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The badness of discrimination

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Abstract

The most blatant forms of discrimination are morally outrageous and very obviously so; but the nature and boundaries of discrimination are more controversial, and it is not clear whether all forms of discrimination are morally bad; nor is it clear why objectionable cases of discrimination are bad. In this paper I address these issues. First, I offer a taxonomy of discrimination. I then argue that discrimination is bad, when it is, because it harms people. Finally, I criticize a rival, disrespect-based account according to which discrimination is bad regardless of whether it causes harm.

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Correspondence to KASPER Lippert-rasmussen.

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Lippert-rasmussen, K. The badness of discrimination. Ethic Theory Moral Prac 9, 167–185 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-006-9014-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-006-9014-x

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