Profiles, Probabilities, and Stereotypes

Schauer, Frederick

ISBN 10: 0674011864 / ISBN 13: 9780674011861

Published by Belknap Press, 2003

The book is in good condition with all pages and cover intact, including the dust jacket if originally issued. The spine may show light wear. Pages may contain some notes or highlighting, and there might be a "From the library of" label. Boxed set packaging, shrink wrap, or included media like CDs may be missing. Seller Inventory # BSM.145BR

Synopsis:

This work employs a lively approach to the timely question of whether we can justly generalize about members of a group on the basis of statistical tendencies of that group. For instance, should a military academy exclude women because, on average, women are more sensitive to hazing than men? Should airlines force all pilots to retire at age sixty, even though most pilots at that age have excellent vision? Can all pit bulls be banned because of the aggressive characteristics of the breed? And, most controversially, should government and law enforcement use racial and ethnic profiling as a tool to fight crime and terrorism? Frederick Schauer strives to analyze and resolve these prickly questions. When the law "thinks like an actuary" - makes decisions about groups based on averages - the public benefit can be enormous. On the other hand, profiling and stereotyping may lead to injustice. And many stereotypes are self-filling, while others are simply spurious. How, then, can we decide which stereotypes are accurate, which are distortions, which can be applied fairly and which will result in unfair stigmatization? These decisions must rely not only on statistical and empirical accuracy, but also on morality. Even statistically sound generalizations may sometimes have to yield to the demands of justice. But broad judgements are not always or even usually immoral, and we should not always dismiss them because of an instinctive aversion to stereotypes. As Schauer argues, there is good profiling and bad profiling. If we can effectively determine which is which, we stand to gain, not lose, a measure of justice.

Review: 'Schauer writes clearly. The book covers many issues and addresses a wide readership...' -- Times Higher Education Supplement, June 10, 2005

Bibliographic Details

Title: Profiles, Probabilities, and Stereotypes
Publisher: Belknap Press
Publication Date: 2003
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: good