Against Fairness

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Against Fairness Page 25

by Asma, Stephen T.


  McGlothlin, Heidi, 185n10

  mentor-apprentice model and favoritism, 94, 121, 161, 196n13

  merit: affirmative action and, 136, 137, 138, 191n10; Aristotle’s view of friendship and, 65; concepts of fairness and, 10–12, 40, 90–91, 187n27; egalitarian community versus meritocratic excellence and, 138, 191n10; free-market proselytizers notion of meritocracy, 140–41; motivation for charitable giving and, 163; school systems’ views of, 92–95; trouble with a claim of supernatural merit, 120; view of in a face culture, 103

  Mexican populations and favoritism, 129–31

  mianzi (delicate face matters), 104

  Michigan, 135

  Microsoft, 167

  Mill, John Stuart, 53

  minorities, majorities, and favoritism: absurdity in thinking minority groups practice egalitarian fairness, 127–28; affection as the glue of true tribal fidelity, 133; affirmative action and (see affirmative action); care and empathy treated as limited resources, 144–46; contextual details role in perceptions of fairness, 130–31, 149–50, 193n28; diversity’s place in the fairness debate, 80, 137, 191–92n11; egalitarian ethics espoused by Singer, 141–43; fairness used as the language of civil and women’s rights, 126; flexible devotion in the book of Ruth, 123–24; good that can come from a tribal bias, 131; immigrant lessons in virtuous preferential treatment, 128–30; impracticalities of a utopian redistribution of wealth, 143–44; melting-pot versus multiculturalism models of egalitarianism, 132–33; number limit for a stable social network of people, 145; reality that some value modes are incompatible with others, 146–48, 150; relationship between ethnic and religious identity in Judaism, 124–26, 190n1; tribalism in American politics, 131–32

  mirror neurons, 74, 184–85n4

  Mogel, Wendy, 172n15

  On Monsters (Asma), 190n28

  Montaigne, 89

  Montesquieu, 61

  Moral Instruction of Children, The (Adler), 88

  morality, veneer theory of, 39

  mother-child bond. See parent-child bond

  Mozhe shitou guo he (feeling the stones with your feet), 149, 150

  Mugabe, Robert, 113

  Multiple-Response Racial Attitude measure, 83

  Murdoch, Robert, 67–68

  Nagel, Thomas, 172n12

  Naomi (biblical story), 123–24

  National Center for Lesbian Rights, 130

  nepotistic favoritism, 47, 107; accepting despite some abuses of power, 112–13; Asian cultures’ emphasis on filial piety, 110, 188–89n19; chemical basis of (see biological favoritism); in Hollywood, 59; immigrant lessons in virtuous preferential treatment, 128–30; meaning of nepotism, 12–14, 172n16, 172n18, 173n20; mutually incompatible frameworks of fairness to all and dedication to kin, 60; nepotism’s benefits in businesses, 114–15, 190n25; nuclear family model of effective distribution of power, 111–12, 189nn20–23; practiced in Chicago politics, 183n17; strength of tribal instincts, 180n1; Western culture’s ideology of fairness (see grid of impartiality); Westerners’ view that nepotism is corrupt, 110–15. See also kin selection

  Newton, Isaac, 52–53

  Nietzsche, Friedrich, 85

  Night Watch (Rembrandt), 180n3

  Nozick, Robert, 23

  Nussbaum, Martha, 2, 9

  Obama, Barack, 64, 91, 131

  Occupy Wall Street, 163–65

  Oedipus complex, 33, 177n24

  opiates, 31–32, 175n16

  Origins of Virtue, The (Ridley), 179n36

  Orwell, George, 6

  oxytocin: bonding window of opportunity and, 30–31; positive social interaction as a trigger of homeostasis, 31–32, 175n16; role in bonding, 27–31, 174nn7–10, 175–76n22–23

  Panksepp, Jaak, 26–27, 28, 32, 174n5, 174n6

  Pannomion, 53

  parent-child bond: infanticide by mammals, 174n10, 176–77n22; males and, 28, 174–75nn10, 11; neurochemical pathway of mother-child bonding, 27–31, 174n5, 174n9; oxytocin’s role in bonding, 27–31, 174nn7–10, 175–76n17; positive nature of, 32, 176–77nn22–23; puzzle of bonding breakdown between kids and their parents, 34–35, 177n26; survival basis of mother-baby bonding, 27

  Parks, Rosa, 84

  patronage, 121

  Peace of Westphalia, 49

  phenomenology of favoritism, 43–44

  philanthropy, 121, 163. See also charity to strangers

  Piaget, Jean, 75

  Pinker, Steven, 178n34

  Plato, 17–18, 72–73, 91, 111, 172n8, 189n20, 192n14

  Platteau, J., 118

  politicians: devotion to friends and, 63–64; nepotistic favoritism practiced in Chicago politics, 183n17; tribalism in American politics and, 131–32

  Pollak, Seth, 29

  Pol Pot, 45–46

  Poniewozik, James, 92

  Pope, Alexander, 53

  positivism, 181n7

  power: accepting nepotism despite some abuses of, 112–13; Americans’ view of, 111; nuclear family model of effective distribution of, 111–12, 189nn20–23; public versus private, 189–90nn20–24; reducing corruption by reducing greed, 122

  Practical Wisdom (Schwartz and Sharpe), 150, 193n28

  Preschool Racial Attitude Measure II, 83

  Prince, The (Machiavelli), 114

  Protestant Reformation, 49

  Ramanujan, A. K., 108–9, 188n16

  Rand, Ayn, 7

  Rawls, John, 9, 172n12, 183n22

  reciprocity, 39

  religious favoritism: Christian versus Confucian ethic, 15–16; competing concepts of equality and fairness, 10–11; egalitarianism versus favoritism of family and friendships, 4–7; incompatibility between spiritualism and favoritism, 5–7; post-religious secular outlets for forbidden emotions, 89, 186n23; tribal favoritism in religions, 124–26

  Rembrandt, 48, 49f, 180n2, 180n3

  Republic (Plato), 73, 91, 172n8, 189n20, 192n14

  Revolution (newspaper), 112

  Richerson, Peter J., 180n1

  Ridley, Matt, 179n36

  Rifkin, Jeremy, 141, 144

  Rorty, Richard, 194n4

  Rose, Charlie, 164

  Rosen, Lawrence, 13–14, 172n18

  Russell, Bertrand, 5, 15

  Ruth (biblical story), 123–24

  Rwanda: ecological interpretation of the violence, 118–19; legacy of the genocide, 115–17; sponsorship practices in, 120–21, 122; tribal tensions contributing to the genocide, 117–18

  Salerno, Steve, 93

  Saletan, William, 41

  sandbox politics, 77

  Sartre, Jean-Paul, 182n13

  Scholastic Aptitude Test, 136

  Schwartz, Barry, 150, 155–56, 162–63, 164, 177n23, 193n28, 196n15

  Sen, Amartya, 107, 172n12

  Seneca, 68–69, 179n35

  Shanghai, 187n7

  shared manifold, 74–75, 185n4

  Sharpe, Ken, 150, 193n28

  Shaw, George Bernard, 176n22

  Sherman, Paul, 37

  Shinkawa, Hiromitsu, 110

  sibling rivalry, 88, 94

  Siddhattha Gotama (Buddha), 3–4, 6, 86, 107, 188n13

  Singer, Peter, 23–24, 141–43, 173n2, 173n3

  Smith, Adam, 53, 54–55

  Smith, John Maynard, 177n28

  Snowden, Frank, 190n31

  social Darwinism, 171–72nn7–8

  social evolution, 36–38, 141, 177–78n29

  Socrates, 18–20

  somatic markers, 177n26

  Sommers, Christina Hoff, 98, 173n2

  Sotomayor, Sonia, 131

  Sowell, Thomas, 137, 140

  sponsorship practice, 120–22

  Sterelny, Kim, 177–78n29

  Stevenson, Harold, 93

  Stigler, James, 93

  Storytelling King, 92

  strict scrutiny, 135

  Supreme Court, U.S., 82

  Syndics of the Drapers’ Guild, The (Rembrandt), 48, 49f

  tavern fictional nepotism case, 57–58, 66–67

 
Taylor, Charles, 9

  Thought in a Hostile World (Sterelny), 177–78n29

  thumos, 73

  Tocqueville, Alexis de, 85–86

  Tong, Rosemarie, 195n11

  Tooby, John, 178n34

  Toulmin, Stephen, 66, 184n26, 184n30

  Toy Story, 79

  tribalism: affection as the glue of true tribal fidelity, 133; in ancient Greek democracy, 182n15; the archbishop and the chambermaid dilemma, 169–70; Confucian hierarchy of values, 16–17; danger in metaphysical tribalism, 119–20, 190n31; difficulty of reconciling some of the dissonance between values and tribes, 150; fallacy of thinking that relationships can be made-to-order, 168–69; family as the original tribe, 179n36; good that can come from a tribal bias, 131; immigrant lessons in virtuous preferential treatment, 128–30; Indian tribal family values reflected in acceptance of insider trading, 106–7; lack of an inevitability that tribalism results in violence, 119; meaning of tribal, 8–9; modern society’s need for social interaction due to lack of tribal bonds, 155, 167–68; in politics, 131–32; in religions, 124–26; Rwanda genocide (see Rwanda); social instincts as the foundation of morality, 2–3; Socrates and Euthyphro’s dialogue about filial devotion and justice, 18–20, 173n28; strength of tribal instincts, 180n1; technology and the new social world of bonding, 166–67; tribal biases and favoritism, 7; using institutional systems to advantage your own tribe, 137; Western skepticism about, 115

  Tutsi, 117, 190n27

  Ueda, R., 191n3

  Unbroken (Hillenbrand), 133

  Urban VIII, Pope, 14

  utilitarianism: approach to choosing between family and strangers, 24–25; approach to ethics, 23–24, 173n4, 195n11; the archbishop and the chambermaid dilemma, 169–70; egalitarian ethics espoused by Singer, 141–43; impartial spectator idea, 53–54, 57–60, 181n11; Kant’s categorical imperative versus a hypothetical imperative, 55, 63, 108, 182n13, 183n22; maximizing the good for the greatest number, 2, 17, 41

  value pluralism, 147

  van Prooijen, Jan-Willem, 89–90

  Velveteen Rabbit, The, 79

  veneer theory of morality, 39

  virtues of favoritism: affective communities seen as true communities, 146, 166; the archbishop and the chambermaid dilemma, 169–70; argument that fairness is a necessary counterweight to favoritism, 162–63; care-based ethics, 195n11; character and favoritism relationship, 159–61, 195n12; charity to strangers incorrectly called “fairness,” 163; chemical basis of bonding (see biological favoritism); egalitarian fairness’ attempt to remove personality from the rules for right and wrong, 160–61; fallacy of thinking that relationships can be made-to-order, 168–69; flexibility of favoritism, 151–52; freedom and favoritism relationship, 152; generosity, 158; gratitude, 159, 194–95n10; group success attributed to intergroup loyalty, 194n9; the Left’s belief that fairness cannot be achieved amidst favoritism, 153–54, 194n4; loyalty, 156–58; mentor-apprentice model and, 161, 196n13; modern society’s need for social interaction due to lack of tribal bonds, 155, 167–68; Occupy Wall Street movement basis, 163–65; public versus private values, 165–66; strength of chosen ties, 151–52, 193n1; strong social bonds as the root of happiness, 154–56; technology and the new social world of bonding, 166–67

  VMPC (ventromedial prefrontal cortex), 40–41

  Walker, Vaughn, 130

  Waugh, Evelyn, 150

  Wedekind, Claus, 194n2

  Western views of favoritism. See grid of impartiality

  Why I Am a Buddhist (Asma), 188n12

  Wiggins, Grant, 195n11

  Williams, Bernard, 183n22

  Wilson, Edward O., 178n33

  Winnie-the-Pooh, 79

  Wolf, Alvin, 190n3

  Wollenstonecraft, Mary, 195n11

  Wright, Jeremiah, 64

  xiao (filial piety), 100, 102

  Xiao Jing, 100, 102

  xiaoren (small-minded person), 106

  Zajonc, R. B., 176n19

  Zamperini, Louis, 133

 

 

 


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