Speaking of the dead

Scarre, Geoffrey

doi:10.1080/13576275.2012.654710

Speaking of the dead

Scarre, Geoffrey

Authors

Geoffrey Scarre

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.