On Taking Offence

Despite intense contemporary public debate, offence is an emotion overlooked by philosophers. There is a popular perception that being ''easily offended'' is bad thing: at best, trivial and, at worst, a technique for shutting down debate. Against such dismissals, this book argues for the significance and positive social value of taking offence, not as a matter of having hurt feelings over things like dismissive remarks, queue jumping, or catcalling, but as a means of resisting unequal social relations. It defends, in other words, offence-taking at apparently trivial and small-scale social interactions--the very form that its opponents find most objectionable. The book addresses topics including offensive jokes, offence on social media, and what civility requires of us.