#Ethics and Responsibility

[omegaphilosophia]

The Philosophy of the Face

The philosophy of the face delves into the significance of the face as both a physical and symbolic representation of identity, expression, ethics, and human interaction. The face holds profound philosophical meaning, often considered a site where individuality, sociality, and ethical responsibilities converge.

Key Themes in the Philosophy of the Face:

Identity and Subjectivity:

The face is the most recognizable and unique feature of a person, serving as a primary means of identifying and distinguishing individuals. Philosophically, the face represents individual subjectivity and personhood. It is often tied to the idea of selfhood and how we understand ourselves and others as distinct beings.

Thinkers such as Emmanuel Levinas have emphasized the face as a central aspect of ethical relations. For Levinas, encountering another’s face is a direct confrontation with their humanity, which demands responsibility and ethical consideration.

Expression and Emotion:

The face is the primary medium through which humans convey emotions such as joy, sadness, anger, and surprise. Philosophers of mind and emotion, like Charles Darwin in The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, have studied how the face communicates internal states.

The face also plays a key role in nonverbal communication and body language. Merleau-Ponty, in his phenomenology of perception, views the face as part of our embodied experience, where internal states are manifested externally in the physical world.

The Face and Ethical Responsibility:

In Levinas’s philosophy, the face-to-face encounter is the foundation of ethical relations. The face of the other calls us to responsibility, evoking a moral imperative to recognize their vulnerability and dignity. This idea contrasts with objectifying others, where the person is reduced to a thing rather than recognized in their full humanity.

The face, in Levinas’s ethics, is unavoidably tied to vulnerability. Seeing another’s face can invoke a sense of empathy and care, demanding that we treat the other as more than just an object or a means to an end.

The Gaze and Power:

Jean-Paul Sartre, in his work on existentialism, discusses the concept of the gaze. The idea is that when someone looks at us, we become aware of ourselves as objects in their perception. The gaze of another can be experienced as oppressive or objectifying, leading to feelings of shame or discomfort.

The face is the focal point of the gaze, and philosophers like Michel Foucault have explored how visual power dynamics—like surveillance—operate through the act of looking. The face becomes a site of control and regulation in social contexts.

Facial Recognition and Social Interaction:

In social philosophy, the face is a crucial component of how we interact with and recognize others. Recognition theory, explored by philosophers like Axel Honneth, focuses on the importance of mutual recognition in shaping personal identity and self-esteem. The face plays a central role in these processes of acknowledgment and affirmation.

Social norms about facial expressions also shape interactions. For instance, in certain cultural contexts, smiling or maintaining eye contact is a form of politeness, while in others, it may signify dominance or intrusion.

The Mask and Concealment:

The face is often considered a symbol of authenticity, but the act of masking the face introduces questions about identity and deception. Masks, both literal and figurative, can conceal the true self, leading to philosophical inquiries about authenticity and self-presentation.

In postmodern philosophy, thinkers like Jacques Derrida and Gilles Deleuze question whether the face can ever fully reveal the self. Instead, the face may be seen as a surface, a construct that conceals as much as it reveals.

Facial Alteration and Technology:

With advances in plastic surgery, facial recognition technology, and artificial intelligence, the face has become a subject of technological and ethical debate. The ability to alter, enhance, or track faces raises questions about identity, privacy, and authenticity.

Transhumanist philosophers discuss the role of technology in altering human bodies, including the face, and what that means for personal identity. Facial modification challenges the idea that the face is a static, natural marker of identity.

The Face and Beauty:

The face is a primary site for judgments of beauty, and philosophers have long debated the nature of beauty and its relation to human worth. Aesthetic philosophy considers how facial symmetry, proportion, and expression contribute to perceptions of beauty.

Feminist philosophy critiques the societal emphasis on women’s faces as objects of beauty, exploring how cultural norms around appearance can lead to objectification and unrealistic standards that shape individual self-worth.

The Face in Art and Representation:

Throughout history, the face has been a central subject in art. Portraits, sculptures, and photographs focus on capturing the essence of a person through their facial features. Philosophers of art, such as Arthur Danto and Theodor Adorno, explore how the representation of the face in art reflects deeper truths about human existence.

The face in art can reveal vulnerability, character, and emotion, serving as a window into the subject’s inner life. Artists like Rembrandt and Picasso have used the face to explore deeper psychological and existential themes.

The Face and Memory:

The face plays a crucial role in how we remember and recognize others. Phenomenology and cognitive science explore the significance of the face in memory and the emotions tied to recognition.

Faces are tied to personal history and relationships. The memory of a face can evoke emotions, both positive and negative, shaping our interactions and relationships.

The philosophy of the face encompasses a wide range of issues related to identity, expression, ethics, and social interaction. The face is a powerful symbol of human individuality and vulnerability, playing a central role in communication, recognition, and ethical responsibility. Philosophers across various traditions explore the face as a site where personal and interpersonal meaning is created, raising important questions about how we understand ourselves and others in social and ethical contexts.

[peachesingreece]

Reminder to avoid buying anything crochet new from big stores. Crochet (unlike knit) CANNOT be done by a machine and must be done by an actual human being. The person who made it was definitely not paid an appropriate amount for their labour. Most big stores use sweatshops anyway and I know it’s hard to completely avoid buying anything from a major store. But if those specific items don’t sell, we can send a message to companies that we don’t want items made fully by hand using slave labour

This summer, avoid any new crochet items. You don’t need THAT specific top that badly

[soulbrand]

man you all were not kidding abt the therapyspeak in veilguard.

[grimark]

seivarden "weird coping mechanisms" vendaai is like "i'm having trouble processing my emotions right now so i'm going to engage in service roleplay for the person (ship?) i'm in love with, while the ship (person?) that i'm a lieutenant on board steers me around and speaks through me like a puppet. i find this soothing and reassuring for normal reasons don't worry about it."

[mayasaura]

I do not now, nor have I ever, expected Gideon to take a principaled stance on the forever war. I just don't think it matters to her. Ostensibly she's on her dad's side because her dad has been on a parenting kick lately, and the best she ever got from her mum was goodbye with a stay of execution. But if she were confronted with the ethics of the situation? Asked her opinion? I don't think she'd have one. She may be a prince, but at heart she's still the abused eighteen year old girl who fought tooth and nail to join the army just for a way out

[thankstothe]

[suliqyre]

There are moments when you must ignore the rules in order to do what is right. You must keep this in mind, lest you adopt the false belief that you are always constrained by the rules. If you believe this, you might do wrong by quietly following the rules instead of doing the right thing, which also happens to be forbidden.

Read more...

[philosophybits]

To will oneself free is also to will others free. This will is not an abstract formula. It points out to each person concrete action to be achieved.

Simone de Beauvoir, The Ethics of Ambiguity

[alwaysbewoke]

[pastafossa]

Hi Pasta! This might be kind of a weird ask but I need your help as my favorite writer and daredevil authority. I have to write a paper analyzing the ethical and moral frameworks of an organization or piece of media and of course I chose Matt Murdock. I was thinking of doing two main sections, lawyer Matt and devil Matt. I was wondering if you had any scenes or points I could make? I’m not a very good writer (this is an engineering major requirement haha) and I know you’re well versed on this subject. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! (I also want to connect it to todays current government issues but I’m a wee bit scared to)

FRIEND THIS ASK GOT ME LIKE

Thank you SO SO MUCH and also YOU CHOSE SO FUCKING WELL. Quite frankly I wish DD was out when I was taking my ethics class in college, my prof loved when we used pop culture scenes to illustrate key points in ethical debates, and I've thought more than once about the way I'd have come crashing in through his door holding a foam-covered stack of pages ranting about the ethical implications of Daredevil.

IN OTHER WORDS, I HAVE THOUGHTS THAT MIGHT HELP.

Firstly, you're right: Lawyer Matt and Daredevil both occupy different ethical spaces, which is wild since they're both in the same person. Those two sides are often in opposition, which obviously makes for lovely conflict since Matt's constantly struggling with finding a middle ground.

Interestingly though, a lot of what he does comes down to the same reasoning. Just with two different ways he does it.

For Lawyer!Matt, I'd argue important scenes illustrating his ethical and moral framework would be:

His entire closing statement in 'Rabbit in a Snowstorm' (Season 1 Ep 3 off the top of my head) is an excellent display of how he views the law, why he does what he does in the courtroom: "These questions of good and evil, as important as they are, have no place in a court of law. Only the facts matter. "

Season 2, episode 6 when he's convincing Foggy why they should take Frank's case to prevent Frank from getting the death penalty: "He's a person, Foggy. Like you, like me."

Season 1 ep 10, Nelson v. Murdock is rife with stuff for both Lawyer!Matt's ethics and Daredevil's, but for this one, it's worth considering how he convinces Foggy to leave Landman and Zack: "Is this what you want? To be a part of that? Protecting corporations from people that need help?"

I'd also bring up the examples in S1 and S2 where there's a ton of people who can't pay with money, and so pay with food instead. This is spread across multiple episodes, but it's a telling sign of how Matt truly does believe all should be represented, regardless of ability to pay. It's him helping his community.

For Daredevil's ethics, the three most massive, most telling scenes I'd argue are:

His argument with Frank on the rooftop, Season 2, episode 3. I love this scene so much I have it bookmarked. It is my favorite ethical argument scene ever. They're having an ethical argument that's thousands of years old. Why doesn't he kill? "What about hope?"

Another from Nelson v Murdock, where he talks about the little girl. I have this one bookmarked too, because it's another fucking amazing example of why Matt's ethics are what they are as Daredevil. He believes in the law. He does. And he believes we should be working to fix the system. But the law at present is not enough. "The law couldn't help that little girl... but I could." (SA warning for anyone who hasn't seen it)

Above episode also has the exchange between Foggy, "That isn't fair, Matt," and Matt's reply, "We don't live in a world that's fair. We live in this one. And I'm doing everything I can to make it a better place."

I'd can't remember it off the top of my head but the episode where Matt is examining Frank on the witness stand and sort of takes a sideways tangent into what this city needs. He calls out the corruption of the police, and why the city needs people who will act. He's VERY clearly talking about himself here and not just Frank.

And a tie in for both: his speech at Lantom's funeral about doing what he can for those around him.

I do think if you want to tie it into current events, you can easily do so! The corruption of the cops (S1), the writers drew inspo from a Certain Person in S3 for Fisk (iirc he even says he'll "Make Hell's Kitchen Great Again") including how he leveraged the feds for his own power, the failure of the system with Frank Castle in S2, hell, DDBA swung hard for it again with Leroy Bradford (he says something like "They're willing to spend five times more to lock me up than they are to feed me") and the entire corrupt cop plotline coming back around. The show's always been viscerally real even with the presence of enhanced abilities. Matt lives in a world very much like this one, and with a lot of the same issues. His struggle, in many ways, is ours, I wouldn't be too afraid to acknowledge that even if it's just in general terms since so much of ethics in fiction (and in Daredevil especially) is about seeing what it's trying to tell us about our own world. <3

[unbfacts]

Soldiers in the German Army can refuse orders that violate human dignity.

[valtsv]

i need to start collecting dead things in jars and boxes of bones i think it's the only thing that might actually fix me

[recsspecs]

Might not shoot a person but kill an ant; is the value of life determined by the size of the body or human-centric understandings of social contributions or responsibilities?

[formulanni]

Really disappointing to see such a big figure in the f1 fandom being so outspoken about supporting a movie made by a big time domestic abuser ngl

Yeah I think you bringing this up is actually a good point because it is a really big issue that I feel like people aren't really addressing (including me) and I have been thinking about this since you sent it in

Unfortunately we are fans of a sport that actively upholds sexism, racism, homophobia, and domestic abusers etc. Not to say that you shouldn't call this out, because we need to be better as a whole about holding the people involved in this sport accountable (I.e drivers who have said crazy shit, fans who have said crazy shit).

But this whole community has been losing our minds about the weird sexism in the F1 movie (rightfully so) while also celebrating Hulkenberg’s podium. Like. We exist in a vacuum

That being said, this sport is an ethical shithole. And I think as supporters of this sport we can't really begin cherry picking what's ethical or what's not because the entire thing is a problem.

I wish I knew how to respond to this in a more articulate way other than “it all sucks”

In conclusion: you should be disappointed, and you should call me out for it. But also, as a creator in a sport that’s extremely unethical it’s hard to maneuver ethics? If that makes sense? I didn’t pay to see this movie, and I also told people to avoid watching until it was on streaming and discussed the sexism and issues. BUT I also gave it a platform and gave it my time. I dont know. Im going to think about it and circle back probably but I just wanted to respond because its important to take accountability about the things I care about as a leftist and feminist woman in this sport