On the Very Concept of Discrimination: Towards a Radical Publicity of Normative Theorizing

Abstract I argue for a radical publicity of normative theorizing. Such radical publicity derives from the fact that it is not chiefly the normative principles that should enjoy some stable public acceptance, but the key concepts themselves such as ‘democracy’ and ‘discrimination’. These ‘thick concepts’ contain both descriptive and normative content and are up for grabs in normative theorizing to an extent that has not been appreciated thus far by philosophers and theorists. My argument focuses on the case of normative theorizing about discrimination, and I review some pertinent recent examples of experimental philosophy that indicate what radical publicity might require and also sketch some further suggestions for meeting the requirements of radical publicity going forward.