A Sense of Belonging: The Cultural-Historical Roots to Group Rights
Members of certain groups are often granted special rights. Members of a gender may be the recipients of affirmative action, members of indigenous groups can be entitled special language and land rights, and membership in certain nationalities can count as grounds to be prioritized – or demoted – in immigration.
But only certain types of membership seem to have such a moral standing. Why is it, for example, that many think indigenous groups might deserve protection and rights, but not, say, all urban dwellers?
This project considers whether a Cultural Copying (CC) account of group membership explain why a certain group has a moral standing (i.e. are the targets of certain group rights, protections etc.). The CC account would entail that a process of cultural learning would have the potential to explain features of membership (historical continuity, solidarity and injustice) that are in turn relevant for being a bearer of certain rights and protections. Group membership according to CC must fulfil the following conditions:
1. The existence of a model or models (M1) of being of a gender, ethnicity, class etc.
2. New member(s) M2,3… produced in interaction with M1 or other past members,
3. The interaction with past model (or members) causes the new members to resemble past member(s).
Membership according to CC is historically local where members imperfectly share many similarities with one another due to a specific chain of reproduction in time and place. The hypothesis of this project is that many of acts of cultural copying (conditions 1-3) will also involve features of membership that political theorists have suggested might underlie group rights (e.g. reciprocity, historical continuity). Membership in a gender, for example, is passed on within a chain of social learning within a particular cultural niche and it has been observed that these engagements with past (role) models leads to a sense of belonging and solidarity within the chain. Considering what extent cultural copying can form a basis for group’s moral standing also initiates a new synthesis between work in political philosophy and philosophy of (social) science. It also puts philosophy of social science to use in strengthening relevant arguments and policy on group right
The project: Team, Aims, Synergies
To arrive at an account of group membership and how it becomes a basis for group rights, political philosophy/theory and philosophy of social science/ontology need to work in tandem. The PI’s (Marion Godman, MG) expertise in philosophy of social science/ontology will be teamed with complementary expertise at both the junior (Post doc) and senior levels (Nils Holtug and Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen). The principal aim of the project is to:
1. Explain why group membership could form a basis for group rights and protection.
To argue for the cultural copying (CC) account of group membership, the project also aims to:
2. Apply to candidates for group rights, protection etc. (e.g. gender, indigenous groups);
3. Assess alternative accounts of social membership (in political philosophy and philosophy of social science).
The project is related to the centre of excellence CEPDISC (The Center for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination) at Aarhus BSS, headed by Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen.
Lecture Series - Identity and Normativity
| March 14-15: | Tariq Modood, University of Bristol |
| March 21-22: | Chaim Gans, Tel Aviv University |
| March 28-29: | Leonie Huddy, Stony Brook University |
| April 20: | Azar Gat, Tel Aviv University |
| May 9: | Alan Patten, Princeton University |
| May 23-24: | Ron Mallon, Washington University in St. Louis |
Workshops for Scholars
Workshops during spring 2022
The day after the public lecture, we will host a workshop with our guest speaker. This is an opportunity for scholars to present work in progress and engage in meaningful conversations with peers. This is an important part of academic life; it is part of the behind-the-scenes work that helps bring about high-level publications. Workshops are somewhat like professional feedback session that allows us to test ideas, receive criticism and learn how our views are received.
Students and faculty are welcome to attend if they wish to witness or partake in this event. The papers that will be presented will be made available beforehand so that participants or observers can read them. Those who wish to attend are welcome to make comments or ask questions.
If students or faculty have any questions, they are welcome to write to the organizers at EMAIL.
Workshops forward:
Workshop with Leonie Huddy
- 29th March 2022 09.30-16.30 room 1.2-1.3, building 1420, Aarhus University
Workshop with Azar Gat:
- 20th April 2022 13.30-15.30 room 246, building 1340, Aarhus University
Workshop with Alan Patten:
- 9th May 2022 10.00-13.00 room 136 building 1325, Aarhus University
Workshop with Ron Mallon:
- 24th May 2022 10:00-16:00 room 1 building 1420, Aarhus University
Public lectures for students and scholars
What does it mean to be a national, or to belong to a community? How do we determine and who determines membership within such communities? What is a community or a collective identity? And why should we care about membership: what role do they play in our lives, what does it entail in terms of rights or duties? How do we reconcile competing memberships?
Public debate and private conversations are full of such questions and our attempts to answer them. Our lecture series – Identity and Normativity – brings together a slate of world-class experts to help us think about these difficult questions. It is an interdisciplinary lecture series – we have specialists in history and psychology, law and philosophy, political science and sociology.
All are welcome to attend the public lectures. They are open events to all members of the University and the broader public. After a presentation from our guest speaker, there will be a question-and-answer session where we will give priority to undergraduate students. We encourage all to register in advance to reserve a seat and benefit from the free wine offered to those who have registered. Sign up for a glass of free wine here.
Who?
At the lectures several experts in their fields have been invited to talk about the broader subject of identity and group belonging from their scholarly perspective. Down below you will find the dates and tittles for each lecture.
- Tariq Modood - Multiculturalism without Privileging Liberalism, March 14th 2022
- Chaim Gans - Liberationist vs. Proprietary Nationalism, March 21st 2022
- Leonie Huddy – The Political Psychology of National Attachments, March 28th 2022
- Azar Gat – Is nationalism recent, invented and superficial?, April 20th 2022
- Alan Patten – Religious Liberty and Equal Treatment, May 9th 2022
- Ron Mallon – Moral Dimensions of Accumulation Mechanism, May 23rd 2022
Where?
The lectures will be given at the Small Law Auditorium (Lille juridisk auditorium) - (Building 1342, room 455) and begin at 17h00.
Press releases and public outreach
27.03 2026: Jensen, Malene (2026). “Dårlige tabere: Vi gjorde det!”. Weekendavisen, Ideer p. 4-5. Communicating project results in the context of the Danish general election. Article authored by journalist Malene Jensen.
18.10 2025: Seeberg, Henrik, Roman Senninger & Martin Bækgaard (2025). ”Valgtabere betvivlede, om valget var fair”, Jyllands-Posten, kronik, https://jyllands-posten.dk/debat/kronik/ECE18642961/valgtabere-betvivlede
08.05.2024: ”6,2 millioner kroner til forskning i partilederes forklaring på eget valgnederlag”, https://ps.au.dk/aktuelt/nyheder/nyhed/artikel/62-millioner-kroner-til-forskning-i-partilederes-forklaring-paa-eget-valgnederlag
Project team
Advisory Board
- Anna Alexandrova (Cambridge)
- Desirée Lim (Penn State University)
- Harold Kincaid (Cape Town)
- Caterina Marchionni (Helsinki)
The project is funded by a Sapere Aude grant from The Independent Research Fund Denmark. It is headed by assistant professor Marion Godman and will run over three years starting 1 January 2020.