Simone Sommer Degn and Søren Flinch Midtgaard on the Surprising Ethics podcast
Join Simone Sommer Degn and Søren Flinch Midtgaard as they together with host William Gileda talk about the ethical challenges surrounding sex, dating, and discrimination.
Do we have duties not to discriminate in spheres that are personal and intimate such as dating and relationships?
Many people hold that we have a duty not to discriminate when acting in public or professional roles, for example, when selecting candidates for a job. However, they often maintain that comparable duties do not apply in private and intimate contexts, such as choosing a romantic partner.
In the new episode of the Surprising Ethics podcast host William Gildea speaks with Simone Sommer Degn and Søren Flinch Midtgaard about the ethical challenges surrounding sex, dating, and discrimination. Among the questions explored are:
- What counts as discrimination in the dating sphere—and what is simply preference?
- How should we think about freedom of association in intimate relationships?
- What role do dating apps play in shaping who we choose and exclude?
- Where is the line between attraction, fetishisation, and bias?
- Is “lookism” a form of discrimination we should take more seriously?
Listen to the podcast here: https://surprisingethics.buzzsprout.com/
The episode draws on the authors’ recent study Degn, S. S. and Midtgaard, S. F. (2025) “Do we have a duty not to discriminate when we date?”, Theoria, Volume 91, Issue 3.
Doi: 10.1111/theo.12574
The study was published in a Special Issue on “Discrimination and Ethics in Dating and Sex” in Theoria, guest edited by CEPDISC members: Joona Räsänen, Simone Sommer Degn and Søren Flinch Midtgaard