Geoffrey Scarre
Speaking of the dead
Scarre, Geoffrey
Authors
Abstract
Many people think that the reputations of the dead should be treated with respect, though this position is hard to defend if dead people are not only unconscious of what is said about them but also non-existent. In this paper, I examine first some unsuccessful arguments for holding that the dead are wronged by slander or denigration and ask what kind of civilised values are at issue when we speak about dead people. Subsequently I propose an alternative account which identifies the ante-mortem person as the real subject of posthumous slander. One important implication of this view is that moral status does not decline with time, so that failing to respect a dead person's good name is equally wrong whether she is long-dead or only recently deceased.
Citation
Scarre, G. (2012). Speaking of the dead. Mortality, 17(1), 36-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/13576275.2012.654710
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Publication Date | Feb 1, 2012 |
Deposit Date | Feb 23, 2012 |
Publicly Available Date | Jul 24, 2014 |
Journal | Mortality |
Print ISSN | 1357-6275 |
Electronic ISSN | 1469-9885 |
Publisher | Taylor and Francis Group |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 17 |
Issue | 1 |
Pages | 36-50 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1080/13576275.2012.654710 |
Keywords | The dead, Reputation, Posthumous slander, Ante-mortem persons, Kant, Pitcher, Feinberg. |
Files
Accepted Journal Article
(291 Kb)
PDF
Copyright Statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Mortality on 02/02/2012, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13576275.2012.654710.
You might also like
Judging the Past: Ethics, History and Memory
(2023)
Book
Forgiveness and Ageing
(2022)
Book Chapter
Who Is Entitled to Forgive? A Study of ‘Third-Party’ and ‘Proxy’ Forgiveness
(2022)
Book Chapter
Killing swiftly: The effects of COVID-19 on the experience of the elderly
(2022)
Book Chapter
Do We Have Moral Duties to Past People?
(2021)
Book Chapter