Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT Gender and race have received significant philosophical attention recently; they are the paradigm cases of social kinds in most philosophical accounts. I argue for the inclusion of caste as a social kind because it affects the lives of many people, and because it presents itself as an important test case for philosophers of social kinds. I explain some key concepts in the caste discourse, and show how caste is similar and dissimilar to gender and race. I consider how existing theories of social kinds can be adapted to explain the key features of caste. I argue that versions of an ameliorative account, a biologically realist account, and a conferralist account do not sufficiently explain caste as a social kind. I settle in favour of a structuralist account as the most promising theory for caste.
Source: Journal of Applied Philosophy
DOI: 10.1002/japp.70067
Author: Ajinkya Deshmukh
Institution: University of Manchester
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,980
OpenAlex ID: W7117303659