In all groups -- from couples to nation-states -- people influence one another. Much of this influence is benign, for example giving advice to friends or serving as role models for our children and students. Some forms of influence, however, are clearly morally suspect, such as threats of violence and blackmail. A great deal of attention has been paid to one form of morally suspect influence, namely coercion. Less attention has been paid to what might be a more pervasive form of influence: manipulation. The essays in this volume address this relative imbalance by focusing on manipulation, examining its nature, moral status, and its significance in personal and social life.
They address a number of central questions: What counts as manipulation? How is it distinguished from coercion and ordinary rational persuasion? Is it always wrong, or can it sometimes be justified, and if so, when? Is manipulative influence more benign than coercion? Can one manipulate unintentionally? How does being manipulated to act bear on one's moral responsibly for so acting? Given various answers to these questions, what should we think of practices such as advertising and seduction?
Industry Reviews
"The ten essays collected here will... provide readers with a firm understanding of the basic philosophical questions concerning interpersonal manipulation... This book's clear writing and avoidance of jargon enable those who lack a rich philosophical background to read these essays with profit... Recommended."
--Choice
"All of the essays make interesting, thoughtful contributions to answering these questions. They also acknowledge each other. This gives a nice sense of a collaborative effort, despite the differences in the details. Coons and Weber's introduction is masterfulEL Overall, this is a very worthwhile book. It is rammed to the rafters with interesting examples, and all of the contributions have something interesting to say. It is an important topic, and I hope --
and expect -- this collection will inspire more to examine it."
--Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Online
"The essays in this volume take important steps toward identifying the core features of manipulation, and they are well written, thorough and methodical. The book contains multiple perspectives on the methods of manipulation, discussing the distinction between manipulation and coercion, the moral status (or statuses) of manipulation, how manipulation is used as a morally loaded term from several viewpoints, and a discussion about the ethics of more systemic
attempts at manipulation in our societies. In short, Manipulation: Theory and Practice is a valuable and engaging contribution to the literature." -- Philosophy in Review
"The essays in this volume offer nuanced and insightful contributions to a developing conversation in analytic philosophy about psychological manipulation. The volume should be read by any scholar interested in manipulation and the diverse range of philosophical questions it raises." -- Social Theory and Practice
