Extended Implicit Bias: When the Metaphysics and Ethics of Implicit Bias Collide

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Mind
• Social Psychology
• Ethics

Background:

• Social injustice is sustained by both implicit biases and unjust social structures.
• These elements are argued to sustain and ontologically overlap with each other.
• The hypothesis of extended cognition offers a framework to analyze this relationship.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the implications of extended cognition for understanding the relationship between implicit biases and social structures.
• To argue that implicit biases can be partly realized by and extended into unjust social structures.
• To examine the ethical and practical challenges arising from this extended view.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis integrating philosophy of mind (extended cognition) with social psychology and ethics.
• Developing arguments based on the conditions for cognitive extension.
• Evaluating the ethical consequences of viewing social structures as part of individual cognition.

Main Results:

• Accepting conditions for extended cognition suggests implicit biases are often realized by and extended into unjust social structures.
• This perspective supports equally counteracting psychological and social contributors to injustice.
• However, it complicates dismantling unjust structures due to ethical and legal barriers protecting personal integrity.

Conclusions:

• There are strong grounds to believe implicit biases and unjust social structures ontologically overlap.
• Ethical considerations present significant reasons to reject this view, highlighting a collision between metaphysical and ethical intuitions.
• The interconnectedness of bias and structure poses complex challenges for social justice reform.