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Added by: Clotilde TorregrossaAbstract:
From the introduction: "Whatever matters to human beings, trust is the atmosphere in which it thrives." [SISSELA BOK]'Whether or not everything which matters to us is the sort of thing that can thrive or languish (I may care most about my stamp collection) or even whether all the possibly thriving things we care about need trust in order to thrive (does my rubber tree?), there surely is something basically right about Bok's claim. Given that I cannot myself guard my stamp collection at all times, nor take my rubber tree with me on my travels, the custody of these things that matter to me must often be transferred to others, presumably to others I trust. Without trust, what matters to me would be unsafe, unless like the Stoic I attach myself only to what can thrive, or be safe from harm, however others act. The starry heavens above and the moral law within had better be about the only things that matter to me, if there is no one I can trust in any way. Even my own Stoic virtue will surely thrive better if it evokes some trust from others, inspires some trustworthiness in them, or is approved and imitated by them.
Comment: A key text of feminist ethics, and a seminal paper for the discussion of trust in contemporary ethics. It is a bit long, but written in an accessible manner. It would be a strong addition to an intermediate course on ethics or social epistemology that deals with the concept of trust. The paper also offers a critique of the notion of contract, and its centrality in modern ethics, and as such could feature in a course on social and political philosophy.
Baier, Annette. Trust and Antitrust
1986, Ethics 96(2): 231–260
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