Just Words: On Speech and Hidden Harm: An Overview and an Application

Australasian Philosophical Review 5 (2):129-149 (2021)
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Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper argues for a hidden way in which speech constitutes harm by enacting harmful norms. The paper then explores the potential legal consequences of uncovering such instances of harm constitution. In particular, the paper argues that some public racist speech constitutes harm and is thus harmful enough to warrant legal remedy. Such utterances are actionable, it is contended, because they enact discriminatory norms in public spaces.

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Mary Kate McGowan
Wellesley College

Citations of this work

The Conversational Character of Oppression.Robert Mark Simpson - 2021 - Australasian Philosophical Review 5 (2):160-169.
Hateful Speech and Hostile Environments.Ishani Maitra - 2021 - Australasian Philosophical Review 5 (2):150-159.

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References found in this work

A theory of freedom of expression.Thomas Scanlon - 1972 - Philosophy and Public Affairs 1 (2):204-226.
Oppressive speech.Mary Kate McGowan - 2009 - Australasian Journal of Philosophy 87 (3):389 – 407.
The heart of racism.J. L. A. Garcia - 1996 - Journal of Social Philosophy 27 (1):5-46.
Beyond Belief: Pragmatics in Hate Speech and Pornography1.Rae Langton - 2012 - In Ishani Maitra & Mary Kate McGowan (eds.), Speech and Harm: Controversies Over Free Speech. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 72.

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