Kind-Making, objectivity, and political neutrality; the case of Solastalgia

Politics and science, it is customarily and broadly assumed, should not mix. I investigate a purported "new mental illness" arising from psychological stress associated with environmental damage. Previous assessments have concluded that the diagnosis of "solastalgia", which is clearly intended to advance a political agenda, may thereby lack scientific validity. Building on work by Ian Hacking and Nelson Goodman, and drawing comparisons with the history of "political medicine"--in particular, the scientific study of Child Abuse and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome--I argue that the political consequences of such a diagnosis may plausibly help to justify it as a distinct objective scientific kind, by demarcating it from alternative classifications. That science should be objective, then, does not require that it be politically neutral.