Autorentext

Lieke Asma is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Munich School of Philosophy, Germany.

Klappentext

In this English translation of a popular Dutch philosophy book, Lieke Asma challenges the widespread assumption that implicit bias is understood by investigating what goes on in our unconscious mind.

By connecting the latest insights in psychology with theories of philosophy of action, Asma critically reflects on models of implicit cognition that are typically taken for granted. These existing theories direct our attention back to our minds. But unintentional discrimination takes place in the world and in our interactions with the information we have about a person. When we unconsciously discriminate, we are subject to a particular set of external circumstances that make it possible for us not to recognize that we are responding to irrelevant, potentially harmful information.

Asma asks us to zoom out, pay attention to the nature of discrimination. We need to understand the relationship between the social information we receive about a person's gender, ethnicity, religious affiliation or religious affiliation and how our behaviour harms or disadvantages them. Asma shows us that implicit bias is not caused by unconscious mental states, it is not a trait someone has. It is in our hidden discriminatory actions.

Can we identify and avoid implicit bias if we direct our focus outwards and look outside the mind? This compelling alternative approach not only explains why certain interventions do not work: it offers us the chance to recognize, overcome and combat discrimination in ourselves and the structures around us.

Inhalt

Introduction
1. The Iceberg Model
Of two minds | Freud's unconscious motives | Scientizing Freud | Uncovering implicit biases
2. The Limitations of the Iceberg Model
Are implicit biases personal characteristics? | What do scores say about behaviour? | In what sense are
implicit biases biases? | In what sense are implicit biases implicit? | Implicit discrimination as a starting
point | Implicit versus explicit discrimination
3. What is Implicit Discrimination?
Does implicit discrimination even exist? | Habitual behaviour | Responding automatically to social
information | Unconscious discrimination | What is discrimination? | Implicit discrimination as
unintentional discrimination | The structure of unintentional discrimination | Beliefs about social groups |
But what if we do have sufficient evidence? | Discrimination as a starting point
4. Why We go Wrong
Discrimination that happens to you | Unintentional and unconscious | Possible missteps | Discriminatory
perception | Just the facts | The source of your judgement | The unconscious in the relationship | The
absence of suspicion | No absolute distinctions | Who is unconscious?
5. Like Fish in Water
Psychology and structure | Mirrors in the mind | Unintentional discrimination | Unconscious discrimination without accompanying psychology | Discriminating worlds | Mirrors in the world
6. Looking Outwards
Consciousness, but of what? | Recognising patterns | Experiences and perspectives | Epistemic injustice |
The nature of discrimination | Eliminating misattribution | Psychological interventions, and yet again the
IAT | Disengaging practice | Responsibility | Embracing the messy reality
Conclusion
Index