Introductory description

There has been a considerable amount written over the past decade on the political morality of discrimination. This module aims to provide students with an advanced introduction to the different theories that have been developed concerning what makes discrimination wrong when it is wrong, using racial discrimination as a test case. It will then consider how these theories should be applied to a relatively neglected form of discrimination, viz., appearance discrimination.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

1: Introduction and overview
2: The nature of discrimination: conceptual and empirical issues. (This session will provide an introduction to the different forms that discrimination may take, such as direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, and statistical discrimination, debates surrounding how they should be conceptualised, and the different mechanisms that may be involved in direct discrimination, including stereotyping and implicit bias.)
3: Why is discrimination wrong? I: Harm and deliberative freedom. (This session will examine two theories of what makes discrimination wrong that regard it as contingently wrong in terms of its consequences, namely, Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen’s harm-based theory and Sophia Moreau’s theory concerning how discrimination may impair deliberative freedom.)
4. Why is discrimination wrong? II: Disrespect and the denial of moral equality. (This session will examine two theories of what makes discrimination wrong that regard it as potentially non-contingently wrong, namely, Deborah Hellman’s account concerning how discrimination may be demeaning, and Benjamin Eidelson’s account of how it may be disrespectful.)
5. Why is discrimination wrong? III: The meritocratic principle. (This session will examine whether the meritocratic principle, viz., that the best-qualified candidates should be selected for positions, can help to explain why discrimination is wrong in the context of job appointments.)
6. Statistical discrimination and racial profiling (This session will consider the issue of when it is permissible for statistical generalisations to play a role in decision making, with special reference to racial profiling.)
7. Appearance discrimination and reaction qualifications (This session will apply different theories of discrimination to the case of appearance discrimination, focusing in particular on the role of reaction qualifications, that is, qualifications that count as such in virtue of the responses of those with whom the successful candidate will interact in the course of performing the duties associated with a role.)
8: Discrimination and the personal sphere. (This session will apply different theories of what makes discrimination wrongful to the discrimination that occurs when people choose friends, lovers and companions. It will focus especially on racial discrimination and appearance discrimination in this context, and on the role played by appearance norms, that is, norms concerning how one should look.)
9: Legal regulation of appearance discrimination. (This session will assess the arguments for and against regulating appearance discrimination by means of the law, in particular whether appearance should be made a protected characteristic within the UK Equality Act.)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of different forms of discrimination, the various ways in which they can be conceptualised, and the advantages and disadvantages of different definitions.
• Demonstrate knowledge of a range of theories of what makes discrimination wrong when it is wrong.
• Apply different theories of what is wrong with discrimination to specific kinds of discrimination, including racial discrimination and appearance discrimination.
• Demonstrate enhanced key skills such as written and oral communication skills, problem solving, working with others, and information technology skills.
• Construct and substantiate a comprehensive and sophisticated argument in response to a pre-approved essay question, or a question of the student’s choice in consultation with their seminar tutor.

Indicative reading list

Darwall, S., ‘Two Kinds of Respect’, Ethics, Vol. 88, 1977, 36-49
Dobos, N., ‘The Duty to Hire on Merit: Mapping the Terrain’, Journal of Value Enquiry, Vol. 50, 2016, 353-368;
Eidelson, B., Discrimination and Disrespect (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015)
Etcoff, N., Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty (New York: Doubleday, 1999)
Hamermesh, D., Beauty Pays: Why Attractive People Are More Successful (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2011)
Hellman, D., When Is Discrimination Wrong? (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008)
Holroyd, J., ‘The Social Psychology of Discrimination’ in K. Lippert-Rusmussen (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of the Ethics of Discrimination (London: Routledge, 2017)
Kershnar, S., ‘The Duty to Hire the Most Qualified Applicant’, Journal of Social Philosophy, Vol. 43, 2003, 267-284;
Lazenby, H. and P. Butterfield, ‘Discrimination and the Personal Sphere’, in K. Lippert-Rusmussen (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of the Ethics of Discrimination (London: Routledge, 2017
Lippert-Rasmussen, K., Born Free and Equal? A Philosophical Inquiry into the Nature of Discrimination (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014)
Mason, A., ‘Appearance, Discrimination, and Reaction Qualifications’, Journal of Political Philosophy, Vol. 25, 2016, 48-71;
Mason, A., Levelling the Playing Field (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006)
Miller, D., Principles of Social Justice (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999),
Moreau, S., ‘What is Discrimination?’, Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol. 38, 2010, 143-179,
Parr, T., and A. Slavny, ‘Harmless Discrimination’, Legal Theory, Vol. 21, 2015, 100-114.
Rhode, D., The Beauty Bias. The Injustice of Appearance in Life and Law (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010)
Saunders, H., ‘The Invisible Law of Visible Difference: Disfigurement in the Workplace’, Industrial Law Journal, Vol. 48, 2019, 487-514
Sher, G., ‘Qualifications, Fairness, and Desert’, in N. Bowie (ed.), Equal Opportunity (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1988);
Tietje, L., and S. Cresap, ‘Is Lookism Unjust?: The Ethics of Aesthetics and Public Policy Implications’, Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol. 19, 2005, 31-50
Wertheimer, A., ‘Jobs, Qualifications, and Preference’, Ethics, Vol. 94, 1983, 99-112
Widdows, H., Perfect Me. Beauty as an Ethical Ideal (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2018)

Subject specific skills

1. Ability to apply key normative theories and concepts relating to discrimination and appearance.
2. Ability to analyse, develop, and critically assess normative arguments using theories and concepts introduced and discussed in the module.

Transferable skills

1. Critical thinking
2. Communication of complex ideas - written and verbal
3. Working effectively with others
4. Information literacy/research skills
5. Time management and organisation