Models as Dogwhistles

Abstract

Some scientific models and some claims about model-target relations are fruitfully diagnosed as dogwhistles. Dogwhistles, broadly speaking, are speech acts which send different, conflicting, and often differentially inflammatory messages to listeners. I distinguish two ways scientific models can be dogwhistles: representational dogwhistling and fit-for-purpose dogwhistling. I illustrate both kinds of dogwhistling using an example from computational social science, the Diversity Trumps Ability theorem. I argue that dogwhistling threatens the objectivity of science, and propose some ameliorative strategies.