Transcript Legal Issues Ch. 9

Diversity
(The Ethical Side)
Diversity =df differences between people
that yield political or social groupings
Primary Dimensions:
Secondary Dimensions:
Physical Health ?
Mental Health ?
Age
Gender ?
Sexual Orientation ?
Ethnicity
Income
Marital Status
Geographic Location
Education
Religion
Include some elements of choice, self-determination
If you are clumsy or insulting when talking
about diverse groups of people your
language will be identified by some –ism
term (see p199):
Ableism
Adultism
Ageism
Sizism
Egocentrism
or the more familiar,
Sexism
Racism
Ethnocentrism
Elitism, etc.
Objects of ridicule exhibit some elements of choice,
self-determination in fitting description
The Condition of Control says that it makes no
sense to praise or blame someone for what is
outside their control
Ultimately then, moral evaluation of persons based
on things outside their control is a logical error,
and perhaps a moral error too (if you make the
logical error through neglect, or even intentional
thoughtlessness, say)
(We called this same principle the “Ought Implies Can” principle
before … but let’s not use that term!)
What’s wrong with preferring some people over
others?
•
•
•
We do it all the time
It’s how we choose friends
Our preferences are predetermined,
• Impossible to change
• Difficult to change
•
Some people are annoying, bad, disturbing, etc.
What’s wrong with preferring some people over
others?
Diversity as a political or social issue is mainly
about …
• not preferring groups of people over other
groups, or,
• not preferring one individual over another based
on group membership
What if the group is an immoral group, like the
KKK, Nazis, or Unitarians?
Society is to varying degrees forgiving of personal
preferences when they are grounded in moral
preferences
It is not always easy to tell whether you are
morally obliged (this is the Ethics section,
not Law) to respect a group whose
characteristics or behavior you find
offensive
Are folks morally wrong for heckling …
those who wear fur?
meatitarians (omnivores)?
pet owners?
SUV drivers?
milk drinkers?
Wiccans (Witches)?
Satanists?
‘Gangsta’ rappers?
So, what does it mean to respect diversity?
In obvious cases, such as



age,
sex,
race
it is relatively easy to see evaluation of persons based
on those characteristics as bad
Recall Martin Luther King’s injunction to judge people
based on the content of their character rather than
the color of their skin
But clearly


affirming diversity or
welcoming multiculturalism
is not that simple
The book treats the term diversity as
 good in all cases
 a matter of rejecting prejudice
 Kum Ba Yah (read Diversity and Values, p203)
That seems very political, rather than thoughtful,
academic, or honest
If diversity includes groups whose practices
are plainly immoral on your worldview, what
counts as respecting diversity for you?
Have you rejected multiculturalism if you
 reject conservative versions of Islam that
endorse killing of homosexuals?
 reject the treatment of women among some
Mormon groups?
 reject the actions of Baptists who torment
women seeking abortions?
You can seemingly reduce concerns about
being on the wrong side of an –ism term
by simply basing your judgments about
persons based on their individual traits
If prejudice is a key concept in diversity
issues, then simply waiting to know an
individual’s stance on individual moral
matters is a good guide