Javier Hidalgo Speaks on the Ethics of Integration

Javier Hidalgo from the University of Richmond will give a talk on the topic “The Ethics of Integration” at Virginia Tech. The talk takes place on October 04, 2017, from 4-6 PM in Surge 107. The talk is tailored to appeal to both students and faculty, with plenty of time for discussion and interaction with the guest speaker. You are cordially invited to attend.

Here is the abstract of the talk: This is a chapter of a book in progress. The book argues that immigration restrictions are generally unjust and explores some of the implications of this claim for individual ethics. In this chapter, I ask: do immigrants have obligations to integrate into their new societies? Many people answer “yes.” They think that immigrants are obligated to learn the local language, adopt mainstream cultural norms, avoid segregating themselves, and assimilate in other ways. I reject this view. I instead advance a liberal view on the ethics of integration. On my view, it is both permissible for immigrants to integrate and permissible for them to refuse to do so. I defend the liberal view on integration against a range of objections, such as the objections that immigrants consented to assimilate, that immigrants should integrate out of gratitude, and that a failure to integrate would bring about bad consequences.