Abstract
This paper seeks to examine the plausibility of the concept of ‘Civic Friendship’ as a philosophical model for a conceptualisation of ‘belonging’. Such a concept, would hold enormous interest for educators in enabling the identification of particular virtues, attitudes and values that would need to be taught and nurtured to enable the civic relationship to be passed on from generation to generation. I consider both of the standard arguments for civic friendship: that it can be understood within the Aristotelian typology as either a form of utility friendship or as a form of virtue friendship. I argue that civic friendship may not be the most appropriate model and that attempts to resolve the problems through looking on it as a political metaphor leave it unable to fulfil the function for which it was originally designed in Ancient Greece. Finally, I emphasize the need to carefully consider which particular metaphors we choose for civic relationships and how we subsequently use them.
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Notes
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jan/29/derek-conway-fined [last accessed 19.11.2009].
"We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes": attributed to Leona Helmsley, a U.S. hotel magnate tried for tax evasion. Quoted in New York Times (July 12, 1989). [last accessed 19.11.2009].
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/mar/17/barclays-guardian-injunction-tax: article examining how numerous banks, the ultra-rich and multinational organisations avoided paying taxes.[last accessed 19.11.2009].
On the 5th February, 2004, 21 Chinese cockle pickers, all illegal immigrants, were cut off by the tide and drowned at Morecambe Bay, UK because of the negligence of their gang master. The existence of gang-masters operating in the UK were unknown by most citizens prior to this event. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/4259226.stm [last accessed 19.11.2009].
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Acknowledgments
Many thanks to all who took part in the Second Stanford-Illinois Summer School and at The Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain conference in 2006 for their comments on an earlier version of this paper. Many thanks to Patricia White and Professor Suzy Harris for their insights and suggestions.
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Healy, M. Civic Friendship. Stud Philos Educ 30, 229–240 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-011-9221-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-011-9221-3