Are Americans less civil than they used to be? If so, is that a bad
thing? Perhaps we are just learning to be more honest. And what
does civility mean? Is it just good manners? It so, perhaps it is
only the complaint of privileged classes, annoyed that taxi drivers
are increasingly rude and that men no longer give up their seats to
women on public transportation. Or is civility a question of
morality? The philosopher Peter Bertocci once argued that
promptness is a fundamental form of social justice.
In this lively conversation on an increasingly significant
theme, major philosophers and religious scholars argue the issue on
three levels. The first is manners: Henry Rosemont argues the
Confucian case that manners are the substance of social relations,
while Edwin Delattre and Adam Seligman believe that the issue is
deeper than that; and the sociologist Alan Wolfe is persuaded that
we are not less civil or ill-mannered than our predecessors.
Secondly, as a social issue, James Schmidt, Lawrence Cahoone, and
Adam Seligman turn to questions of structure and meaning in a civil
society; Ninian Smart, David Wong, and Virginia Straus put the
issue in a cross-cultural context; and Carrie Doehring warns that
civility may be a barrier to honest Communication in family life.
Finally, the metaphysical and religious dimensions of civility are
explored by Robert Pippin and Adam McClellan.
There seems to be a consensus that the lack of civility is,
indeed, an increasing problem, that it is more than a class issue
of manners, and that its current loss is troubling for contemporary
society.
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