Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PSP (Prejudice: Source and propagation)
Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2024-08-31
To understand the propagation of prejudice, we need to understand the linguistic devices through which it is expressed. Prejudicial attitudes can be expressed through generic generalisations (or simply generics) like ‘Women are illogical’, which ascribe properties (e.g. being illogical) to groups (e.g. women). The standard analysis takes generics to express claims about the world. This project has developed a novel alternative analysis on which generic generalisations are analogous to exclamations like ‘Ouch!’, in that they function primarily express the speaker’s mental states rather than describing the world. In addition to advancing our understanding of the propagation of prejudice, this project has experimentally assessed the nature of prejudice, using a novel experimental paradigm.
A. Publications:
[1] Keeping Context in Mind: A Non-Semantic Explanation of Apparent Context-Sensitivity. 2024. Linguistics and Philosophy 47: 191-209.
B. Experimental Results:
[1] Significant results concerning the concept of prejudice
C. Future Publications
[1] A report in a psychology journal summarising experimental results.
[2] A paper in a philosophy journal explaining the philosophical significance of these results.
[3] An article in a publicly accessible outlet such as The Conversation, summarising our results for the public.
[1] Keeping Context in Mind: A Non-Semantic Explanation of Apparent Context-Sensitivity. 2024. Linguistics and Philosophy 47: 191-209.
B. Experimental Results:
[1] Significant results concerning the concept of prejudice
C. Future Publications
[1] A report in a psychology journal summarising experimental results.
[2] A paper in a philosophy journal explaining the philosophical significance of these results.
[3] An article in a publicly accessible outlet such as The Conversation, summarising our results for the public.
In addition to a novel theory of generic generalisations (A1), the project has found significant empirical evidence regarding the nature of prejudice (B1). A replication study is planned. Should these results be confirmed, they may be of significant interest to governmental and non-governmental organisation interested in combatting prejudice.