My view of ethics and of its priority is connected to my view that we are fundamentally relational … - John Kleinig

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Quote of the day

I was too young that time to value her, But now I know her. If she be a traitor, Why, so am I. We still have slept together, Rose at an instant, learned, played, eat together, And wheresoe'er we went, like Juno's swans, Still we went coupled and inseparable.

John Kleinig

My view of ethics and of its priority is connected to my view that we are fundamentally relational beings - both the product of human interactions, as well as committed as part of the expression of our own humanity to various social involvements. I see ethics as having two places in the maintenance of these relational activities - first as providing the basic coinage of our interactions qua humans and second as mediating the various roles we assume as humans.

Ethics, Humanity, Interactions, Priorities, Roles, Social

Same Author Quotes

I see loyalty - roughly perseverance in relational commitments despite the cost of such perseverance - as an important human value
virtue. Think of it as a kind of relational glue.

Commitment, Commitments, Cost, Kind, Loyalty, Perseverance

I see ethical considerations as having a certain priority in our interactions - passing judgment on our political and legal processes.

Judgment, Passing, Political, Priorities, Processes

Police have both extra constraints and extra permissions - on the one hand, they can't dodge involvement in social disorder as the rest of us can and they may be required to conduct themselves privately in a way that does not undermine their public authority; on the other hand, they have permission to engage in deceptions, invasions of privacy and uses of force that are forbidden to the rest of us. But this does not put them beyond common morality.

Deception, Engage, Hand, Morality, Police, Required

What we have to ask is this: what can we morally expect of and allow to people whom we deploy to fulfill this or that social role :police officer, school teacher, physician? This may sometimes lead to difficult social decisions - e. g. should police be permitted to illegally import drugs as part of a sting operation? In the end, I think "common - that is, critical - morality" should determine the limits of the police role.

Illegally, Import, Police, School, Teacher, Thinking

There will always be situations in which conflicts arise between individual and communal values - Catholic police officers deployed to enable women to enter abortion clinics without harassment and doctors who oppose performing abortions. No social role is free of such potential conflicts.

Abortion, Catholic, Performing, Police, Social