Discrimination and Disrespect: (Oxford Philosophical Monographs)

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.

Table of Contents:
Introduction I. Clearing the Ground 1: The Concept of Discrimination 2: The Puzzle of Indirect Discrimination II. Intrinsically Wrongful Discrimination 3: The Role of Disrespect in Wrongful Discrimination 4: Respect for Equality 5: Respect for Individuality III. Contingently Wrongful Discrimination 6: A Case Study: Racial Profiling Conclusion

About the Author :
Benjamin Eidelson completed his BPhil and DPhil in philosophy at the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar and received the Gilbert Ryle Prize. He also completed a law degree at Yale Law School and served as editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. His scholarship focuses on points of contact between philosophical and legal questions.

Review :
Discrimination and Disrespect is a nuanced and carefully argued account of what discrimination is and what makes it wrong. Only recently has the subject attracted serious philosophical attention and with this book Eidelson establishes himself as one of the most important voices in the field ... The book is beautifully written and carefully argued -- with the balance, open-mindedness, sophistication and care that insure that Discrimination and Disrespect will be highly influential. It is a must-read for anyone interested in thinking deeply about discrimination. This book offers a rich, fascinating and philosophically crisp examination of a set of legal cases and issues of the utmost importance, both to political philosophy and to the world at large. Benjamin Eidelsons book is an absolutely terrific book repeat: an absolutely terrific book which not only casts much needed light on the nature of discrimination, but also develops an unusually rich and sophisticated account of discrimination. Hence, if you have any interest in philosophical discussions of discrimination, his book is a 'must read'. As Eidelson notes, it is something of a 'philosophical' embarrassment that so little has yet been done to explore wrongful discrimination. His book constitutes an important attempt to remedy this embarrassment.