TY - JOUR
T1 - Reaction Qualifications in the Eyes of the People: An Experimental-Philosophical Study based on US Survey Data
AU - Pedersen, Viki Møller Lyngby
AU - Boisen Andersen, Didde
AU - Midtgaard, Søren Flinch
AU - Sønderskov, Kim Mannemar
PY - 2024/12/11
Y1 - 2024/12/11
N2 - Is it fair for employers to select candidates partly based on how the employers think customers react to the candidates' appearances, that is, based on candidates' reaction qualifications? Both philosophically (in the literature on wrongful discrimination) and empirically, this question has recently been getting attention. Here, we focus on a theory of unfair disadvantages emphasizing (i) whether the possession of the appearance feature in question reflects choices on the part of the candidate and (ii) whether the appearance feature in question reflects values or convictions of importance to the candidate. We scrutinize the theory by evaluating how well these factors map on to folk intuitions about wrongful discrimination using an experimental-philosophical approach and data from the United States. We do so on the presumption that coherence with folk intuitions is one desideratum for a philosophical theory and that attention should be given to potential discrepancies between philosophical theories and folk intuitions. Our central finding is that there is only general support for factor (i), not (ii), in the American population. Our study also adds to the extant empirical literature on reaction qualifications that tend to focus on the employer's side of the matter, not the candidate's as we do.
AB - Is it fair for employers to select candidates partly based on how the employers think customers react to the candidates' appearances, that is, based on candidates' reaction qualifications? Both philosophically (in the literature on wrongful discrimination) and empirically, this question has recently been getting attention. Here, we focus on a theory of unfair disadvantages emphasizing (i) whether the possession of the appearance feature in question reflects choices on the part of the candidate and (ii) whether the appearance feature in question reflects values or convictions of importance to the candidate. We scrutinize the theory by evaluating how well these factors map on to folk intuitions about wrongful discrimination using an experimental-philosophical approach and data from the United States. We do so on the presumption that coherence with folk intuitions is one desideratum for a philosophical theory and that attention should be given to potential discrepancies between philosophical theories and folk intuitions. Our central finding is that there is only general support for factor (i), not (ii), in the American population. Our study also adds to the extant empirical literature on reaction qualifications that tend to focus on the employer's side of the matter, not the candidate's as we do.
KW - discrimination
KW - experimental philosophy
KW - folk intuitions
KW - lookism
KW - reaction qualifications
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85204739676&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/theo.12559
DO - 10.1111/theo.12559
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0040-5825
VL - 90
SP - 624
EP - 642
JO - Theoria
JF - Theoria
IS - 6
ER -