What’s Wrong With Swearing?

Abstract

This paper makes the case that a prima facie wrongness of swearing is due to the wrongness of disrespecting another person’s autonomy. This disrespect is manifested in the imposition of swearing and inhibiting reflective capacities, which is a consequence of swearing. In order to make this case, we start by defining and contrasting swearing with nearby concepts, as well as reviewing existing literature on swearing’s wrongness, which has tended to focus on offensiveness. Dual process theory is set out as it forms an important component of our account of swearing’s wrongness. In order to explain this wrongness, however, we first have to explain the wrongness of imposition and how this is connected to dual process theory. We explain how swearing evokes Type 1 cognitive processes in hearers and the threat this poses to autonomy. We elaborate on the boundaries of the wrongness of swearing by consideration of some final examples.