What question did this study set out to answer?

To present a conceptual framework, symbolic immunity, to understand the protection of medical deviance based on authority.

April 16, 2026Open Access

When Authority Protects Deviance: Symbolic Immunity, Agnotology, and Medical Governance

Key Points

To present a conceptual framework, symbolic immunity, to understand the protection of medical deviance based on authority.
Develop a unified conceptual model of symbolic immunity.
Analyze the role of authority in providing structural protection to medical deviance.
Conduct partial falsifiability testing using the Theranos case.
Demonstrated that higher authority leads to greater protection of medical deviance.
Identified key factors like agnotology and cognitive biases influencing medical governance.
Provided insights linking strategic ignorance and normalization of deviance to authority.

Abstract

This article proposes a unified conceptual framework — symbolic immunity — to explain why radically different forms of medical deviance all benefit from structural protection proportional to the actor's authority. The model articulates agnotology, strategic ignorance, normalization of deviance, cognitive biases, and the MICE+G counterintelligence framework. Partial falsifiability testing via the Theranos case. Bilingual preprint FR/EN.

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Authors

Nicolas Schneider

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Université de Picardie Jules Verne

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When Authority Protects Deviance: Symbolic Immunity, Agnotology, and Medical Governance

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Abstract

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Authors

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