Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Richard Whites Friendship and Commitment :: Friends Morals Loyalty Papers
Richard Whites Friendship and Commitment In this paper, I will examine the duties of supportership. I will look at arguments in favor of the view that there atomic number 18 special virtuous duties involved in friendship, but will eventu exclusivelyy reject this view. I will then explain what role I see friendship having in morality even without these duties. In Richard Whites article Friendship and Commitment, White argues that friendship is an inherently moral activity (81). He argues that part of being a friend is having certain obligations, same(p) being helpful or emotionally available. These are obligations that are above and beyond what we owe to a stranger. He too thinks that being a friend involves a commitment. He says specifically, when I spend time with someone, accept their help, and make myself available to that person, by sharing the more intimate aspects of myself, I am also creating an expectation that is equivalent to a commitment, given the institution of friendship and all that it commonly entails (82). In being someones friend, aside from the commitments and obligations, he argues, you are also morally endorsing her. That is, you are implicitly saying that there is something valuable about them that your friend is someone worth knowing. Let us suppose that all of this is actually the case that friendship really does affect certain commitments, obligations, and endorsements. Do any of these matter morally? Ill address endorsements first, followed by obligations and commitments. When someone is your friend, this seems to imply that you think there is something valuable about that person. But the things I find valuable in her capability have nothing to do with morality for instance, she might be intelligent and able to argue effectively. She might make me laugh. She might be fun to be with. None of these are morally relevant, and yet a combination of them would probably be su fficient for me to be friends with someone. As such, it seems that being a friend with someone does not actually imply a moral endorsement of that person.
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