Arguments For Equality Research Articles

The Disappearance of the Body and The Problem of Abstraction in Platonic Thought

One of the most important aspects of Plato’s Republic is the formulation of an abstract and transcendent idea of the “Good.” Distinguishing himself from older, more esthetically oriented concepts of goodness and nobility, Plato’s Socrates consistently insists that an abstract and purely rational idea of goodness both exists, and that knowledge of it is fundamental to the right ordering of all human action. While scholarly disagreement exists about the extent to which the arguments of Plato’s Socrates should be taken at face value, few scholars deny that the mind (the realm of abstraction) is presented as essentially superior to the body. The consequence of Socrates’ turn toward the abstract in the Republic—though perhaps not the intention of his argument—is a subsequent movement away from the body, and thus, also away from an emphasis on the particulars of human life. This in turn, I argue necessarily undermines the city’s existence as a multitude of distinct parts working toward a common goal. We can see the effects of the move toward abstraction most clearly by examining the consequences of the argument for sexual equality in Book V of the Republic, which I argue exemplifies the problems associated with a politics of pure abstraction. Specifically, I contend that the turn toward abstraction present in the argument for sexual equality undermines the vitally important role of mothers in establishing a sense of self, which in turn undermines the basic ground of the city as a composition of distinct parts.

Human equality arguments against abortion

In this paper, I argue that a commitment to a very modest form of egalitarianism—equality between non-disabled human adults—implies fetal personhood. Since the most plausible bases for human value are...

Gender equality in the workplace: a global perspective

PurposeThe benefits of gender diversity in the workplace are well-established. Consequently, many organizations have policies or programs in place to encourage hiring women. Despite this, the gender gap remains, particularly in terms of compensation and promotion and progress appears slow. This paper aims to examine the benefits of gender diversity and common approaches to enhance it. It then reviews lessons from global research and suggests applications.Design/methodology/approachThis practitioner study reviews the literature to identify arguments for gender equality in the workplace, progress in gender equality and common organizational approaches to equality. It presents snapshots of two global studies examining gender equality. It draws implications and applications from these studies.FindingsGender equality remains elusive and difficult to achieve despite efforts on the part of leaders to encourage it. Insights from research provide compelling reasons in terms of organizational outcomes for female hiring, development and promotion. Additionally, insights into organizational culture help leaders identify barriers to gender equality.Originality/valueThis paper presents insights into the need for and benefits of gender equality in organizations. A review of two global studies provides compelling reasons for leaders to recommit themselves to their gender equality and address needed changes in organizational culture.

Equality Arguments, Contemporary Feminist Voices and the Matrimonial Causes Act 1923

ABSTRACT The Matrimonial Causes Act 1923 equalized the grounds for divorce for men and women, removing the prior existing double standard. Before this reform whilst husbands could divorce wives on the basis of adultery alone, wives had to prove additional aggravating factors. This author by analysis of primary sources from the National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship archive, Hansard and the Royal Commission on Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Report 1912 demonstrates that some contemporaneous actors were persuaded by the symbolism of equality arguments and considered these convincing reasons for reform. This led to the enactment of the legislation in question. Yet in critical evaluation other feminists already recognized limitations with the reform achieved. Namely, that it distracted from other agendas, took too long, that poverty remained a barrier to reform and the reform achieved did not go far enough as the grounds for divorce were not reformed and there was no genuine commitment to equality for women within marriage. Others were prepared to adopt any strategy which led to reform seeing this as pragmatic first step.

A Community Divided: The Ho Lawsuit and Chinese San Franciscans’ Search for Education Equality and Racial Inclusion

Abstract The Brian Ho lawsuit in the 1990s, brought about by several school children of Chinese descent in the San Francisco United School District against the school district, state defendants, and the San Francisco NAACP, signified a shift in the understanding of education equality that spotlighted divergent views, motivations, and actions concerning race-conscious education policies among Chinese San Franciscans. This article examines the intra-community dynamics and conflicts in Chinese San Franciscans’ pursuit of education rights and racial equality in the 1980s and 1990s by reconstructing their various claims to education equality. These divergent yet analogous struggles for equal educational opportunities reflected varied racial attitudes and conceptions of Chinese American racial identity. What these disparate racial perceptions and identity conceptions embodied fundamentally was a range of arguments for racial inclusion and equality. The contrast and contradictions between these distinct views persisted, reemerging in Chinese Americans’ continued apprehension of their racial identity in the wake of the renewed debate about race-based education policies that was juxtaposed with the rising racial hatred toward Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Deal me in”: Hillary Clinton and gender in the 2016 US presidential election

Hillary Clinton’s nomination as the first female presidential candidate to represent a major party in the 2016 US presidential election represented a key moment in US history. The focus on her gender during the campaign was intensified following the accusation by Republican Party nominee, Donald Trump, that Clinton was “playing the woman card”. The present article explores US media constructions of Clinton’s orientation to the topic of gender during the presidential campaign. Data were identified by searching the Lexis Advance® database between 4 February 2016 and 8 November 2016. Using a qualitative methodology guided by a Critical Discursive Psychology approach, we identify two discursive repertoires that were repeatedly mobilised in these media accounts: 1) a repertoire in which the principle of merit was used to undermine arguments for gender equality, and 2) a repertoire in which Clinton’s espoused version of feminism was undermined as ‘old-fashioned’. These repertoires functioned to de-legitimise Clinton as a political candidate by positioning her as seeking special treatment as a woman, who played the victim of sexism and was out of touch with the interests and concerns of female voters. We demonstrate how attempts to counter such characterisations can be problematic for female leaders.

Why human germline genome editing is incompatible with equality in an inclusive society

Human germline genome editing is increasingly being seen as acceptable provided certain conditions are satisfied. Accordingly, genetic modifications would take place on eggs or sperm (or their precursor cells) as well as very early embryos for the purpose of bringing children into existence with or without particular genetic traits. In this context, a number of already discussed and separate arguments, such as the (1) synecdoche, (2) non-identity (3) inherent equality and (4) expressivist arguments, can be brought together in the new context of examining, from an ethical perspective, some of the possible consequences of such germline genome editing. In so doing, it becomes clear that these novel procedures are incompatible with the concept of equality in value and in worth of all human beings in a genuinely inclusive society. Such equality is expressed in Article 1 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that: ‘All human beings are born … equal in dignity and rights.’

The Gender Equality Argument of Nasaruddin Umar

Nasarudin Umar is an Indonesian Muslim scholar who has concerns about the issue of gender relations. He contributes many reflective thoughts, including the book entitled Argumentasi Kesetaraan Gender Perspektif al-Qur'an (Gender equality argument from the perspective of Qur’an). This research is motivated by his intellectual anxiety toward Qur'anic texts that are often used as a tool of legitimacy and justification by patriarchalism. This notion has gender-biased and misogynous thought that places women as the secondactor in ritual and social contexts. In his research, Nasarudin assumes that gender inequality does not come from the character of religion, but it refers to the understanding of religious thought influenced by social construction. Also, he argues that there is still ambiguity of the Qur'an interpretation on whether gender is nature or dynamic nurture (social construction). To understand the authenticity of Qur'anic perspectives, Nasarudin researched the Qur'an verses that discuss male and female relationships by applying thematic analysis (called Tafsir Maudlui) with various approaches such as semantic-linguistic, normative-theological, and socio-historical. The result showed that the Qur'an does not expressly support the two gender paradigmsof either nature or nurture. It only accommodates certain elements within the two theories that are in line with the universal principles of Islam. Generally, the Qur'an recognizes the distinction between men and womenbut the distinction does not benefit one party while marginalizing the other. The distinction is needed precisely to support the harmonious, balanced, safe, full of virtue, and peaceful life.

Equality-based arguments for the decriminalization of abortion in Brazil: towards new legal opportunities

This article aims to contribute to the abortion debate in Brazil, by looking deeply at how the equality principle is being mobilized by pro-decriminalization actors in the specific context of ADPF 442, the lawsuit in which the constitutionality of the abortion restriction up to the 12th week is challenged before the Brazilian Supreme Court. We map and classify the different formulations of equality arguments presented by the claimant and other relevant actors. We then discuss one of the formulations – the formulation that characterizes abortion as a means of group subordination - in light of the legal opportunity structure available in Brazil. We argue that while this argument faces a challenge posed by the narrow formulations of the equality principle in general in Brazil, it also opens up a new window for arguing, for being close in formulation to an important equality case ruled by the Supreme Court – ADPF 186, an affirmative action case.

Is the Primacy of EU Law Based on the Equality of the Member States? A Comment on the CJEU’s Press Release Following the PSPP Judgment

AbstractIn response to the BVerfG’s PSPP judgment, the CJEU issued an unprecedented press release in which it claimed that national courts must give full effect to EU law because this is the only way to ensure the equality of the Member States. While the press release does not contain the word “primacy,” the obligation to give full effect to EU law clearly implies primacy of EU law. This article provides a constructive and critical analysis of the press release’s “equality argument.” First, it demonstrates how the CJEU most likely borrowed it from a recent article by Federico Fabbrini, and how the argument is virtually identical to Kelsen’s defense of international law primacy. Second, it criticizes the equality argument for being inconsistent with the CJEU’s case law, and shows how it is either wrong or tautological. After suggesting three possible reasons why the press release nonetheless justifies primacy in this way, the article concludes by showing how the CJEU’s case law is better conceptualized from a Hamiltonian perspective in which full effect is a goal rather than a means.

Early childhood education and CARE: Won’t somebody think of the children?

‘Won’t somebody think of the children’ is a battle cry calling into question the current positioning of the child and care within international/national childcare policy. This plea is constructed within a framework that recognizes that childcare policies may be guided, developed and implemented in good faith. Nevertheless, there are often (un)intended consequences. The documentary analysis traces the international and Irish quality, affordability and equality arguments underpinning childcare policies and reveals that we may have not only lost sight of the child, but the child is nowhere in sight ([un]intended consequence). While this documentary analysis makes specific reference to the Irish context, the discussion may nonetheless be relevant to the wider international Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) community. The analysis draws on my Irish study ( Nolan, 2019 ), a social feminism exploration of ECEC leadership that revealed the difficulty the stakeholders had in marrying their understanding of children and care within the constantly changing international/national conceptualizations of both. While the depiction of the child and the current state of care in the sector may appear bleak, there is the hope that by drawing attention to this situation, somebody (you and I) will answer the call to battle, and begin a dialogue/debate on the child and care in ECEC.

ARGUMENTS OF DIGNITY AND PLURALISM CONCERNS IN RECENT CONSTITUTIONAL COURT ADJUDICATION

The paper aims at discussing the growing importance of dignity discourse in human rights case law, in particular in recent constitutional and supreme courts cases on controversial rights. Starting from same-sex marriage rulings (as illustrative of a more general trend) the paper argues that dignity cannot be considered a mere “rhetorical tool” of courts, useful to tilt the balance in favour of one of the conflicting rights. On the contrary, dignity - with its wide and flexible meaning - marks the transition of new (or newly recognized) groups to social inclusion and provides a convenient language to mediate among conflicting claims of recognition without relying on more traditional equality arguments.

Beyond Clarkson: Cambridge, Black Abolitionists, and the British anti-slave trade campaign

ABSTRACT The early British campaign to abolish the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade received support from a number of constituencies including Afro-British abolitionists, Quakers in London, and working people in cities such as Manchester. Overlooked in the scholarship on early British antislavery is the significant support it received from a group of academics and students at the University of Cambridge. This article examines the rise and evolution of antislavery activism at Cambridge during the 1780s and considers its impact on the broader movement. It argues that antislavery at Cambridge was led and spurred by a college master who made arguments for racial equality that were fundamentally shaped by black abolitionist writers. This context of antislavery at Cambridge gave rise to Thomas Clarkson and continued after his time there. Ultimately the article distinguishes antislavery radicalism from university practice to show that Cambridge as an institution did not adopt the ideals abolitionists espoused. Abolitionist activism at Cambridge was a dissenting movement whose ideals were not then and have yet to be fully realized at universities and in society.

Criticism Against Feminist's Thinking About Husband's and Wife’s Rights and Obligations

Marriage is a legal place to foster a peaceful, harmonious and loving household (Sakīnah mawaddah wa rahmah). In marriage, the fulfillment of the rights and obligations of husband and wife is the main means for achieving domestic happiness. In the Islamic perspective, the husband is the head of the household and the wife is the housewife. However, in modern times, along with the emergence of feminists, the concept of the rights and obligations of husband/wife are thus re-interpreted and reconstructed on the grounds that many wives are no longer serving as housewives but also help husbands in earning a living. As a result, the aspect of equality is more prioritized than the concept of mu'āsyarah bil ma'rūf (harmonious relationship). This article examines the views of Muslim feminists about the role of husband/wife in a household, while comparing them with concepts that exist in Islamic teachings. In conclusion, the Islamic concept of the rights and obligations of wife and husband, if it is carried out consistently, will actually bring more benefit and permanence in the household than the feminist’s which is only based on the equality argument.

Equal Opportunities? Gendering and Racialising the Politics of Entrepreneurship in Swedish Eldercare

ABSTRACT This paper contributes a Swedish perspective on how selected feminist movement ideas, such as women’s right to economic independence, are being appropriated by neoliberal policies. Swedish governments have argued that opening up the publicly funded eldercare sector to private providers would advance entrepreneurship undertaken by women and immigrants. In this article, we critically explore the ambiguity of the gender equality and ethnic diversity arguments used to justify private sector involvement in publicly funded eldercare in Sweden. We draw upon Carol Bacchi’s theory of policies as gendering practices to argue that the discourses of equal opportunity underpinning the politics of entrepreneurship in the home care sector obscure and recreate inequalities. Our analysis, based on interviews with politicians, public officials and interest organizations involved in the market for Swedish eldercare, shows that the politics of entrepreneurship in the home care sector privilege entrepreneurs who reflect the white masculine gendering of entrepreneurship and disadvantage those with subject positions deviating from the normative entrepreneur. Our findings suggest that policy-engineered entrepreneurship is a poor tool in the struggle for gender equality, as this kind of policymaking is likely to operate in tandem with gendering and racializing practices that impede socioeconomic progress.

Absolute Equality and Absolute Difference: Gandhi on the Plurality of Religions

This paper will consider the ideas of absolute equality and absolute difference that are part of Gandhi’s vision on the plurality of religions. It will fall into three sections. The first section is entitled “Thinking samadarshana through samabhava-Gandhi on “equimindedness” and religious ‘others’”. It will seek to bring out the central ideas in Gandhi’s thoughts on the plurality of religions. In this context the paper will briefly examine the difference between Gandhi’s arguments for absolute equality and the liberal position on religious toleration. The second section will elaborate Gandhi’s reasons for thinking the absolute equality of all religions and will be entitled “The Religion at the heart of all religions- Truth or God”. The third section will be entitled “The truth-untruths of religious others and the duty of resistance: Difficulties with a relativist reading of Gandhi”. It will recapitulate the different strands of the argument in the paper and bring out the implications of ahimsa as love as it transforms resistance to what one thinks of as the truth-untruths of religious ‘others’ in a plural context. It will also take issue with an important contemporary reading of Gandhi, that of Professor Akeel Bilgrami, who reads Gandhi’s position along the lines of a “thorough going relativism about Truth”. In the course of the paper it is hoped to unpack the absolute equality in absolute difference that constituted Gandhi’s vision on the plurality of religions.

De Grouchy, Wollstonecraft, and Smith on Sympathy, Inequality, and Rights

ABSTRACT This article offers an analysis of Sophie de Grouchy’s Letters on Sympathy [1798]. The focus is on the republican implications of her views on sympathy, with comparisons to Adam Smith and Mary Wollstonecraft. Critical attention is paid to claims made on de Grouchy’s behalf that her philosophy is republican and that she offers republican arguments for gender and class equality. These claims are made by Sandrine Bergès [2021] in ‘Revolution and Republicanism: Women Political Philosophers of Late Eighteenth-Century France and Why They Matter’ to which this paper is an invited commentary. This paper does not dispute that de Grouchy’s thought is republican but concludes (1) that her Letters are conspicuously silent on women’s citizenship rights and that the gendered conceptual world of republican thought can account for that, and (2) that any commitment to equality of wealth is negated by her definition of property rights. Since gender and class equality would have been a subversion rather than an application of late eighteenth-century republican thought, this makes de Grouchy a more recognisable republican than Wollstonecraft, whose philosophy explicitly included a commitment to equality of wealth and equal citizenship rights for women.

Skills shortage? The answer's female

A connection between market performance and women in leadership has long been used as a driving argument for gender equality in any sector. For British engineering companies, the reality may be more complicated. Until the sector manages to achieve gender balance, labour shortage could be another reason for alarm.

Good living within social and ecological limits: having too much and damaging nature too much are not separate issues

The objective is to delineate the arguments of a Good Living Limitarianism through the analysis and critique of the doctrine of financial limitarianism —it is not morally permissible to be rich, that is, to have more financial resources than those necessary for a fully flourishing life—. The financial limitarianism’s political equality argument is extended to include the rights of ethnic minorities, and the argument of the social justice is extended to include the reduction of social inequality and the Good Living’s community principle. The argument of ecological sustainability is added based on the Good Living’s principle of sufficiency. It is concluded that a Good Living Limitarianism must simultaneously consider the social limits to wealth formulated by limitarianism and the ecological limits imposed by a full and harmonious life with nature: having or not having too much and damaging or not damaging ecosystems too much are not separate issues.

Patriarchal power as unjust: tyranny in seventeenth-century Venice

ABSTRACTIn the debate about the worth of women in sixteenth and seventeenth century Italy three pro-woman authors of the period, Moderata Fonte, Lucrezia Marinella, and Arcangela Tarabotti, developed analyses of male power, particularly as embodied in husbands and fathers. I argue that these analyses identify the wrong of patriarchal power by construing it as a kind of tyrannical rule, in which the tyrant acts in his own interest and fails to recognize the equality (or superiority) of those over whom he rules. Fonte, Marinella and Tarabotti offer similar accounts of the motives and practices of tyrannical men, but differ in their arguments for the moral equality of the sexes – Fonte and Tarabotti base that claim on natural liberty and freedom of the will, whereas Marinella focuses on the intellectual and moral superiority of women grounded in physiology. Two conclusions follow from their arguments: (i) that the rule of men over women is illegitimate and unjust and (ii) that women are better suited than men to legitimate political rule. Although these works have not often been treated as philosophical, their analyses of male tyranny constitute contributions to feminist political philosophy.