Dissertation, University of Cincinnati (
2020)
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Abstract
Understanding a normative concept like oppression requires attention to not only its
harms but also the causes of those harms. In other words, a complete understanding of such a
concept requires a proper causal explanation. This causal explanation can also inform and
constrain our moral response to such harms. Therefore, the conceptual explanatory framework
that we use to inform our moral diagnosis and our moral response become significant. The first
goal of this dissertation is to propose complexity theory as the proper framework for not only
explaining a social phenomenon like oppression but also understanding the proper sites for social
change. The second goal of this dissertation is to answer three interrelated questions about how
we should respond, morally, to a chronic and complex social problem like racial or gender
inequality: (1) Why do the current interventions to address these problems fail? (2) Do social
movements play any unique role in addressing these problems? (3) What is our individual
responsibility to participate in social movements? In response, I argue that the explanatory
frameworks that we choose to understand the cause(s) of social problems can be the source of the
inadequacy of our intervention. I argue that a proper social and moral intervention needs to
capture the complex and dynamic nature of the social world. I also show that changing the
explanatory framework allows us to see the unique role social movements play in making
effective and sustainable social change possible. Finally, I conclude supporting such movements
is a moral imperative.