Implicit bias, (global) white ignorance, and bad faith: The problem of whiteness and anti‐black racism
Journal article
Beckles‐Raymond, Gabriella 2019. Implicit bias, (global) white ignorance, and bad faith: The problem of whiteness and anti‐black racism. Journal of Applied Philosophy. 37 (2), pp. 169-189. https://doi.org/10.1111/japp.12385
Authors | Beckles‐Raymond, Gabriella |
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Abstract | In Britain, policy-makers tend to view racism as a social attitude rather than an institutional/structural phenomenon. Not until the publication of the MacPherson Report (1999) was the idea of ‘institutional racism’ officially recognised. According to Jules Holroyd, implicit bias as a concept can help us understand and combat the kind of unwitting prejudice the Macpherson report describes. This article explores whether implicit bias is indeed a viable framework for understanding institutional/structural racism. To do so, I bring together Charles Mills’ notion of ‘global white ignorance’ and Lewis Gordon's interpretation of ‘bad faith’. Through Mills’ and Gordon's analyses, which together illuminate both the structural and psychic dimensions of racism I offer an account of the psychodynamics of racism far more consistent with our observations of how racism actually operates in Britain. Specifically, we see that institutional/structural racism is neither unconscious nor is it unmotivated as implicit bias would suggest. As such, I reject implicit bias as a useful or necessary explanatory framework for helping us understand institutional racism as a structural phenomenon. |
Keywords | Philosophy; Racism; Implicit bias; Institutional racism |
Year | 2019 |
Journal | Journal of Applied Philosophy |
Journal citation | 37 (2), pp. 169-189 |
Publisher | Wiley |
ISSN | 0264-3758 |
1468-5930 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1111/japp.12385 |
Official URL | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/japp.12385 |
Publication dates | |
Online | 16 Aug 2019 |
Publication process dates | |
Deposited | 20 Dec 2021 |
Output status | Published |
https://repository.canterbury.ac.uk/item/8y429/implicit-bias-global-white-ignorance-and-bad-faith-the-problem-of-whiteness-and-anti-black-racism
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