From: The Wall Street Journal
The Mystery of Loyalty, in Life and on ‘The Americans’
The Wall Street Journal:
A few weeks ago, I gave a talk at the American Philosophical Association, in an excellent, serious symposium on human experience and rationality. The only problem was that my appearance meant missing the brilliant, addictive TV series “The Americans.” Thank heavens for on-demand cable—otherwise the temptation to skip the conference and catch up on the latest betrayals and deceptions might have been too much for me.
Still, one practical benefit of a philosophical education is that it helps you to construct elaborate justifications for your favorite vices. So I’d argue that “The Americans” tackles the same philosophical questions I wrestled with in my talk. Loyalty—our specific, personal commitment to a particular child, lover or country—is one of the deepest human emotions. But is it compatible with reason? And is it morally profound or morally problematic?
Read the whole story: The Wall Street Journal
More of our Members in the Media >
APS regularly opens certain online articles for discussion on our website. Effective February 2021, you must be a logged-in APS member to post comments. By posting a comment, you agree to our Community Guidelines and the display of your profile information, including your name and affiliation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations present in article comments are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of APS or the article’s author. For more information, please see our Community Guidelines.
Please login with your APS account to comment.