Emma McClure

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Assistant Professor at Saint Mary's University

We argue that machine learning algorithms can inflict microaggressions on members of marginalized groups and that recognizing these harms as instances of microaggressions is key to effectively addressing the problem. The concept of microaggression is also illuminated by being studied in algorithmic contexts. We contribute to the microaggression lit...

Published as a Chapter in Microaggressions and Philosophy, edited by Lauren Freeman and Jeanine Weekes Schroer. New York: Routledge, 121-145. 2020. At first glance, hate speech and microaggressions seem to have little overlap beyond being communicated verbally or in written form. Hate speech seems clearly macro-aggressive: an intentional, obviousl...

Scientists, philosophers, and policymakers disagree about how to define microaggression. Here, we offer a taxonomy of existing definitions, clustering around (a) the psychological motives of perpetrators, (b) the experience of victims, and (c) the functional role of microaggression in oppressive social structures. We consider conceptual and epistem...

Microaggressions are seemingly negligible slights that can cause significant damage to frequently targeted members of marginalized groups. Recently, Scott O. Lilienfeld challenged a key platform of the microaggression research project: what’s aggressive about microaggressions? To answer this challenge, Derald Wing Sue (the psychologist who has spea...

Many theorists have focused on Wittgenstein’s use of examples , but I argue that examples form only half of his method. Rather than continuing the disjointed style of his Cambridge Lectures , Wittgenstein returns to the techniques he employed while teaching elementary school . Philosophical Investigations (PI) trains the reader as a math class trai...