Abstract
In “Losing Innocence for the Sake of Responsibility” (1992) Peter French argues that the loss of innocence is required for moral responsibility and that adults have a responsibility to facilitate the child’s loss of innocence. Drawing on the work of Herbert Morris, French provides a compelling account of the knowledge that is acquired in the process of losing one’s innocence and the sorts of experiences required for its loss. Although I agree with French that moral maturity requires the sorts of conceptual knowledge he identifies, I do not think that the loss of innocence is where we gain such knowledge. I shall argue that the experience of losing one’s innocence provides a more fundamental knowledge on which this conceptual capacity is based.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Thanks to Zachary Goldberg for identifying this definition in French’s work. In later work French defines evil as the willful infliction of undeserved harm on an individual that jeopardizes that individual’s aspirations to live a worthwhile life. See Goldberg’s contribution to this volume for a discussion of this definition. The focus on an individual’s aspirations to live a worthwhile life might be problematic for those who have no aspirations—infants, severely disabled, persons on life-support? If they lack aspirations are they not subject to evil?
- 2.
Thanks to Zachary Goldberg for clarifying this point.
- 3.
See McKenna (2012) and his contribution to this volume for a discussion of the relationship between the capacity to engage in moral address and responsibility.
- 4.
Thanks again to Zachary Goldberg for suggesting the link between a recognition of vulnerability and self-reflection.
- 5.
What about cases of “affluenza”? The term was coined in the early 2000s in response to a highly publicized court case. A teenager from an affluent family killed someone in a drunk driving accident and his lawyer successfully argued for reduced charges because the child’s upbringing had been so sheltered that he couldn’t fully appreciate the consequences of his actions. Don’t we have an obligation to prevent our children from suffering from affluenza? We do. But I am doubtful that exposing them to evil is the way to prevent it. The development of empathy seems crucial in developing caring human beings. Thanks to Tailer Ransom for raising this objection.
References
Butler, Judith. 2010. Frames of war: When is life grievable? New York: Versos.
French, Peter A. 1992. Losing innocence for the sake of moral responsibility. In Responsibility matters, 29–43. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.
———. 2011. War and moral dissonance. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Gilson, Erinn. 2014. The ethics of vulnerability: A feminist analysis of social life and practice. London: Routledge.
Goldberg, Zachary J. 2015. Moral innocence as illusion and inability. Philosophia 43(2): 355–366.
L’Engle, Madeleine. 1963. A wrinkle in time. New York: Square Fish.
———. 1971. A circle of quiet. San Francisco: Harper Collins.
———. 1973. A wind in the door. New York: Square Fish.
———. 1978. A swiftly tilting planet. New York: Square Fish.
McKenna, Michael. 2008. The loss of innocence and the things that remain. American Philological Association Newsletter 7(2): 5–9.
———. 2012. Conversation & responsibility. New York: Oxford University Press.
Morris, Herbert. 1976. On guilt and innocence: Essays in legal philosophy and moral psychology. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Russell, Bertrand. 1910. Knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 11(5): 108–128.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tollefsen, D. (2017). French on Innocence Lost. In: Goldberg, Z. (eds) Reflections on Ethics and Responsibility. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50359-2_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50359-2_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-50357-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-50359-2
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)