Self-Respect and the Denial of Rights

What is an acceptable rate of progress for disadvantaged groups? In this paper I examine an argument by Virginia Held in which she claims that women, or any disadvantaged group, have reason for preferring the option of immediate equality over the option of gradual improvement. She argues that immediate equality is more compatible with the requirements of selfrespect than is gradual improvement.' I present an analysis of Held's argument and conclude (a) that this is not clearly so based on her account of selfrespect, (b) nor is it clearly so based on an alternative account of self-respect, and (c) that Held's argument runs the risk of blurring some important moral distinctions

Criminology · Denial · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Ethics in medical practice · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Psychology