lecture three - friendships with bad people Flashcards
what does isserow say friendship involves
concern for one another, mutual affection, desire for one another’s company and shared experiences
what is isserow’s main claim in her paper
it is morally bad to be friends with bad people because doing that involves having the wrong moral priorities
what are two main reasons that support isserow’s claim
other accounts of why this might be bad don’t seem to be adequate; and being friends with them suggest that we don’t actually think that the ways they’re morally bad are especially important
what is an objection to Isserow’s claim
it is not possible to have a true friendship with a bad person
what is Isserow’s reply to that objection
bad people can, and often do, exhibit loyalty to each other and support each other in ways that show friendship
what is Isserow’s thesis
an individual who counts a morally bad person as a friend is one who betrays a distinct kind of defect in her values
what is the desert view
a person who forges a friendship with a bad person goes wrong in extending to him certain good of which he is undeserving
why is the desert view inadequate
it is no essential part of our job description as friends that we be moral book-keepers who dole out kindness and support to our friends only in so far as they deserve it.
what is the abetting view
it suggests that perhaps our individual does wrong to others when she extends her friendship to a bad person
why is the abetting view inadequate
the extent to which one can claim credit for another’s moral accomplishments is not merely determined by whether or not one has entered into a friendship with them
what is the risk view
the new that to befriend those with faults is not necessarily to play fast and loose with one’s reputation
why is the risk view inadequate
it misidentifies the nature of fault in question; it mistakes a moral error for a purely prudential one
what is the moral priorities view
befriending a morally bad person suggests a issue in one’s moral priorities
