The Ethics of Common Decency

Benziman, Yotam

doi:10.1007/s10790-013-9408-7

Cited by 4 publications

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“…Elsewhere I analyzed the ethics of acts of common decency and classified them as imperfect obligations of this special kind (see Benziman, 2014). I discussed everyday cases such as holding the door for someone when you enter a room before them, or letting another person go ahead of you when the queue at the supermarket is long, and they have only a few items in their cart.…”

Section: Doi Ng a Favor A S A N I M Per F Ect Obl Igat Ionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do me a favor

Benziman

2023

The Southern J of Philosophy

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Suppose that somebody is asking me kindly to do her a favor. She has no right to it. It is my choice whether or not to respond positively. Hence, she asks me for the favor rather than demand it. On the other hand, it seems that my refusal to do her the favor would be rude, inconsiderate, unkind, and morally wrong. This is why we tend to respond positively to favor asking and feel that we have to apologize if we refuse. In this article, I address this puzzle. I claim that refusing to do a favor is morally wrong precisely because a favor has been asked. The requestee needs me, and her very need calls upon me to reveal my goodness. In a sense, this is the strength of her weakness. I claim that acceding to do a favor is a special kind of imperfect obligation in Kant's and Mill's terminologies. As opposed to their descriptions, this obligation is directed toward a definite person at a prescribed time. It turns out that small favors are of the greatest importance for human activity. We all have our needs. We are social animals, and we are depended on others to fulfill our needs. Agreeing to do a favor is one of the building blocks of our shared social endeavor.

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Section: Doi Ng a Favor A S A N I M Per F Ect Obl Igat Ionmentioning

confidence: 99%