Jonas WittwerDec 9, 2022

When can someone be blamed for being sexist? Can you be responsible for being sexist if you were raised in a sexist family and have never had a chance to become aware of a different world view? Could you be blamed as an individual? Does it even make sense to think of "responsibilities" and "blame" together?

(OFC I oversimplify here)

@philosophy

Show threadHermit PhilosopherDec 9, 2022
@feministepistemology @philosophy Explanations (for held perspectives and behaviour) are not excuses. Understanding why we’ve seen things the way we have so far, does not free us from our responsibility of improving how we approach things going forward. Humbly, Hermit
Show threadJonas WittwerDec 9, 2022

@hphilosopher @philosophy

Would you not make a difference between this two cases?

A was raised in a very progressive family. The parents of A taught them that women/men and further genders are equal.

B was raised by christian fundamentalists and learned how their father enforced his power over their mother and that in general cis man are superior to everyone else.

1/

Show threadJonas WittwerDec 9, 2022

@hphilosopher @philosophy

Now A and B both join a party with the goal to put non cis-men in their "natural place".

Personally, I would blame A much more. than B for joining this party.

2/2

Show threadHermit PhilosopherDec 10, 2022
@feministepistemology @philosophy I’ve been trying to correctly understand the example you gave, but I struggle to see why one of them should be more responsible for their own actions than the other. I think I disagree. Humbly, Hermit
Show threadJonas WittwerDec 10, 2022

@hphilosopher @philosophy

Would you say that both had the same chance to become a decent human beeing?

Show threadJeremyDec 10, 2022
@feministepistemology @hphilosopher @philosophy Are you asking whether you can be a decent human being from within an immoral system? Eg, if B from your example above were (instead of joining the group you described) to genuinely try to square respect for women with the system he was taught? We can imagine that he's repulsed by reactionary efforts to put women in their place but unwilling to go so far as to reject the system he grew up in.
Show threadJeremyDec 10, 2022
@feministepistemology @hphilosopher @philosophy By contrast, if he simply accepts or even supports the evils of the system he's taught - as presumably he must if he joins a group to support it - he clearly bears both blame and responsibility.
Show threadNazish
@nowan @feministepistemology @hphilosopher @philosophy if I may, the rights of the women who deal with both these men should be upheld. And if either of them refuses to respect the boundaries of women, they need to be held accountable irrespective of their past. One can understand without excusing poor conduct. The point is, the woman does not have to forfeit her right to dignity in either of these cases.
Dec 10, 2022 at 5:10pmWeb
Show threadJeremyDec 10, 2022

@Nazishmunch @feministepistemology @hphilosopher @philosophy Absolutely - I think that may be part of the point Angela Smith makes in the paper @jonasblatter mentioned. We can be responsible (and justifiably held to account) for things that are beyond our control.

I'm not even sure the troubled version of B I described above isn't blameworthy, rather than just responsible for his views. In the end he refuses to change his views despite seeing evidence that his views cause harm.

Show threadNazishDec 10, 2022
@nowan @feministepistemology @hphilosopher @philosophy @jonasblatter we tend to overcategorize and ignore nuance. 3 things are important : a, that the woman’s rights are respected, b, that disrespect should be prevented and c, that in case they aren’t, the man should be held accountable but in a way that helps him understand, repent and change. Our criminal “justice” system largely ignores the first 2 and is purely punitive in the 3rd.