Kinship and intimacy

Authors

  • Hugh LaFollette Philosophy University of South Florida St. Petersburg

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5324/eip.v11i1.2244

Keywords:

kinship, family, siblings, intimacy, personal relationships, love

Abstract

We think about personal relationships in two distinct ways. The first focuses on relationships between blood relatives: parents and their children, siblings, and perhaps first cousins. The second focuses on intimacy: relationships where each individual is honest to and trusting of the other; each cares for the other and seeks the other’s company. In this article I ask how these two conceptions are, can be, or should be linked. Should we strive to make all relationships with kin intimate?  Even if the answer is a qualified “No,” does that mean relationships with kin are not valuable?  I offer some tentative answers to these questions. Despite its limitations, I hope this provides a framework from which future exploration of these issues might profitably begin.

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Author Biography

  • Hugh LaFollette, Philosophy University of South Florida St. Petersburg
    Hugh LaFollette is the Cole Chair in Ethics at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.  He recently completed a book manuscript In Defense of Gun Control.  He is author of three other books, and editor-in-chief of the International Encyclopedia of Ethics.
Family Ethics, Etikk i praksis Nr. 1 2017

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Published

2017-05-09

Issue

No. 1 (2017)

Section

Artikler - Articles

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How to Cite

LaFollette, H. (2017). Kinship and intimacy. Etikk I Praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics, 11(1), 33-40. https://doi.org/10.5324/eip.v11i1.2244

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