Mary Kate McGowan, "Just Words: On Speech and Hidden Harm" (Oxford UP, 2019)
b'We\\u2019re all familiar with the ways in which speech can cause harm. For example, speech can incite wrongful acts. And I suppose we\\u2019re also familiar with contexts in which a person who occupies a position of authority can harm others simply by speaking \\u2013 as when a boss announced and thereby institutes a discriminatory office policy. In such cases, the announcement is itself a harm in addition to the harm of the instituted policy \\u2013 the boss\\u2019s announcement constitutes a harm and does not only cause harm. Once we\\u2019ve see the ways in which authoritative speech can constitute harm, we might look for mechanisms other than speaker authority by means of which speech can be constitutively harmful.\\nIn her new book, Just Words: On Speech and Hidden Harm (Oxford University Press, 2019), Mary Kate McGowan identifies a previously overlooked mechanism by which speech can be harm. On her analysis, one needn\\u2019t be positioned in an authoritative role to speak in ways that constitute harm. Rather, everyday communicative acts can constitute \\u2013 and not simply cause \\u2013 harm.\\nMary Kate is the Margaret Capp Distinguished Alumna Professor of Philosophy at Wellesley College. She works primarily in metaphysics, philosophy of language, feminist philosophy, and philosophy of law.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law'