That’s the title of a JAMA Viewpoint by David Shaw and Bernice Elger. The whole thing is worth a read (it’s ungated and short). Here’s a taste:
There are at least 3 different types of persuasion. The first is the removal of biases; the second is recommending a particular course of action and providing evidence and reasons in favor of it; and the third is the potential creation of new biases, which could cross the line into unethical manipulation. The first of these is always mandatory, the second is usually permissible but sometimes inappropriate, and the third is normally impermissible but sometimes acceptable in rare cases.
What do you think of this? Do you buy it for medicine? Do you buy it for anything else or for all things? Is removal of bias the most moral and universally acceptable (always mandatory?) type of persuasion?
