Communities of Respect

Grounding Responsibility, Authority, and Dignity

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Political, Ethics & Moral Philosophy
Cover of the book Communities of Respect by Bennett W. Helm, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Bennett W. Helm ISBN: 9780192522047
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: July 25, 2017
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: Bennett W. Helm
ISBN: 9780192522047
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: July 25, 2017
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

Communities of respect are communities of people sharing common practices or a (partial) way of life; they include families, clubs, religious groups, and political parties. This book develops a detailed account of such communities in terms of the rational structure of their members' reactive attitudes: emotions like resentment, gratitude, guilt, approbation, and indignation, whereby people hold each other responsible to certain norms. Helm argues that these communities are fundamental in three interrelated ways to understanding what it is to be a person. First, it is only by being a member of a community of respect that one can be a responsible agent having dignity; such an agent therefore has certain rights as well as the authority to demand that fellow members recognize her dignity and follow the norms of the community, compliance with which norms they likewise have the authority to demand from her. Second, by prescribing or proscribing both actions and values, communities of respect can shape the identities of their members in ways that others have the authority to enforce, thereby revealing an important interpersonal dimension of the identities of persons. Finally, all of this is grounded in a distinctively interpersonal form of practical rationality in virtue of which we jointly have reasons to recognize the dignity and authority of fellow members and so to comply with their authoritative demands, as well as to respect (and so comply with) the norms of the community. Hence we persons are essentially social creatures.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Communities of respect are communities of people sharing common practices or a (partial) way of life; they include families, clubs, religious groups, and political parties. This book develops a detailed account of such communities in terms of the rational structure of their members' reactive attitudes: emotions like resentment, gratitude, guilt, approbation, and indignation, whereby people hold each other responsible to certain norms. Helm argues that these communities are fundamental in three interrelated ways to understanding what it is to be a person. First, it is only by being a member of a community of respect that one can be a responsible agent having dignity; such an agent therefore has certain rights as well as the authority to demand that fellow members recognize her dignity and follow the norms of the community, compliance with which norms they likewise have the authority to demand from her. Second, by prescribing or proscribing both actions and values, communities of respect can shape the identities of their members in ways that others have the authority to enforce, thereby revealing an important interpersonal dimension of the identities of persons. Finally, all of this is grounded in a distinctively interpersonal form of practical rationality in virtue of which we jointly have reasons to recognize the dignity and authority of fellow members and so to comply with their authoritative demands, as well as to respect (and so comply with) the norms of the community. Hence we persons are essentially social creatures.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book The Trial by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book International Arbitration: Law and Practice in Switzerland by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book Explaining Criminal Careers by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book The Idiot by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book Samuel Beckett and the Politics of Aftermath by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book Readers' Liberation by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book Emergencies in Mental Health Nursing by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book The Homeric Hymns by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book The Anatomy of Dance Discourse by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book The European Convention on Human Rights and General International Law by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book Dystopia by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book Obstetric Anaesthesia for Developing Countries by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book The Point of View of the Universe by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book Intercessory Prayer and the Monastic Ideal in the Time of the Carolingian Reforms by Bennett W. Helm
Cover of the book Day Case Surgery by Bennett W. Helm
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy