
Everyone agrees that discrimination can be a grave moral wrong. Yet this consensus masks fundamental disagreements about what makes something an act of discrimination, as well as precisely why (and hence when) such acts are wrong. In Discrimination and Disrespect, Benjamin Eidelson develops illuminating philosophical answers to these two questions. Discrimination is intrinsically wrong, Eidelson argues, when it manifests disrespect for the personhood of those it disfavours. He offers an original account of what such disrespect amounts to, explaining how attention to two different facets of moral personhood -- equality and autonomy -- ought to guide our judgments about wrongful discrimination. At the same time, however, Eidelson contends that many forms of discrimination are morally impeachable only on account of their contingent effects. The book concludes with a discussion of the moral arguments against racial profiling -- a practice that exemplifies how controversial forms of discrimination can be morally wrong without being intrinsically so.
This book investigates the moral foundations of discrimination by questioning what constitutes a discriminatory act and why such acts are considered morally wrong. Benjamin Eidelson, an academic philosopher, utilizes a framework rooted in moral personhood to argue that discrimination is intrinsically wrong when it manifests disrespect for an individual's equality and autonomy. He balances this intrinsic argument with an analysis of how contingent effects also render many forms of discrimination morally problematic.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts recognize this work as a rigorous contribution to the Oxford Philosophical Monographs series, noting its high level of academic density. Scholars frequently cite the text for its precise conceptual distinctions regarding the nature of disrespect in discriminatory practices.
Page Count:
273
Publication Date:
2015-01-01
Publisher:
OUP Oxford
ISBN-10:
0191047082
ISBN-13:
9780191047084
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