The Right to Feel Comfortable: Implicit Bias and the Moral Potential of Discomfort

Against Comfort: Political Implications of Evading Discomfort

“…This affective phenomenon has been well documented by testimonies of minority groups and research from social psychology under different names: 'intergroup anxiety' (Stephan, 2014;Jacoby-Senghor et al, 2016;Hagiwara et al, 2017), 'racial stress' (Sullivan, 2015), 'white discomfort' (Applebaum, 2017), and 'white fragility' (DiAngelo, 2011). Many of the studies and testimonies mentioned here refer to an American context focused on race, but I use the concept interaction discomfort as a broad, neutral umbrella term that also covers the unease and discomfort agents experience when interacting with people from groups they perceive as dissimilar because of gender, class, ethnicity, dialect, disability or appearance in general (Bloom, 2018: 31;Munch-Jurisic, 2020). 5 Recall the opening quote from the young African American man who observes the discomfort of his interactions with white Americans.…”

“…15 A further problem with Gendler's view of the issue -that it is epistemically costly to oppose one's intuitions and gut feelings -is that it underestimates the emotional and moral costs of acting against one's explicit principles. If an employer is explicitly committed to principles of anti-racism, anti-sexism and equal access to opportunity, then the realisation that one has perpetuated inequality with an implicitly biased decision can also trigger a feeling of discomfort -a form cognitive dissonance that I have previously described as awareness discomfort: the uncomfortable feeling of becoming aware of one's one biases and the lack of alignment between one's principles and behaviour (Munch-Jurisic, 2020). The pursuit of justice, then, may incur shortterm costs but can be rational on reflection and in the long run.…”

“…There are also good reasons to be sceptical of discomfort and its potentially damaging effects (Munch-Jurisic, 2020). When arguing as I do that both minorities and majorities should actively seek out more interaction discomfort, a central concern is how to structure and mediate intergroup settings.…”

The Epistemic Value of Affective Disruptability

“… 9 For an elaborate account of pro and contra arguments of “evading discomfort” in the context of moral and political implications of implicit bias, see the work of Ditte Marie Munch-Jurisic ( 2020a , 2020b ). …”