Distant Suffering: Morality, Media and Politics (Cambridge Cultural Social Studies) (English and French Edition)

Distant Suffering, first published in 1999, examines the moral and political implications for a spectator of the distant suffering of others as presented through the media. What are the morally acceptable responses to the sight of suffering on television, for example, when the viewer cannot act directly to affect the circumstances in which the suffering takes place? Luc Boltanski argues that spectators can actively involve themselves and others by speaking about what they have seen and how they were affected by it. Developing ideas in Adam Smith's moral theory, he examines three rhetorical 'topics' available for the expression of the spectator's response to suffering: the topics of denunciation and of sentiment and the aesthetic topic. The book concludes with a discussion of a 'crisis of pity' in relation to modern forms of humanitarianism. A possible way out of this crisis is suggested which involves an emphasis and focus on present suffering. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Series-title......Page 6 Title......Page 9 Copyright......Page 10 Contents......Page 13 Preface......Page 15 Acknowledgements......Page 19 PART I The question of the spectator......Page 21 1.1 Pity and justice......Page 23 1.2 Compassion and pity......Page 25 1.3 The Good Samaritan......Page 27 1.4 The community bond......Page 29 1.5 The question of commitment......Page 31 1.6 Distance and action......Page 33 1.7 Paying and speaking......Page 37 2.1 The requirement of public speech......Page 40 2.2 Fictional suffering and real suffering......Page 41 2.3 The unacceptability of ‘that’s how it is’......Page 43 2.4 Theatre and politics......Page 44 2.5 The pure spectator......Page 47 2.6 Taking sides......Page 50 2.7 Detachment and commitment......Page 52 3.1 The impartiality of the spectator......Page 55 3.2 The powers of the imagination......Page 58 3.3 The spectator of the spectator......Page 59 3.4 The emotive style......Page 61 3.5 The requirement of symmetry......Page 63 3.6 Justice and beneficence......Page 66 3.7 The coordination of emotional commitments......Page 68 3.8 Nourishing the imagination......Page 71 PART II The topics of suffering......Page 75 4.1 From indignation to accusation......Page 77 4.2 Identification of the persecutor......Page 78 4.3 The ‘affaire’ form......Page 79 4.4 Social denunciation......Page 81 4.5 From revolt to investigation......Page 84 4.6 The metaphysics of justice......Page 87 4.7 Criticism of denunciation......Page 90 4.8 Denunciation and its critics......Page 93 5.1 The unfortunate’s gratitude......Page 97 5.2 The sentiment of urgency......Page 99 5.3 The metaphysics of interiority......Page 101 5.4 The welling-up of emotion......Page 102 5.5 A window on the place of the heart......Page 105 5.6 The vocabulary of sentiments......Page 111 5.7 Virtuous young women in distress......Page 113 6.1 The indulgence of sentiment......Page 116 6.2 The duplicity of sham emotions......Page 119 6.3 The ambiguous pleasure of sensitive hearts......Page 121 6.4 The amateur of suffering......Page 123 6.5 Sadistic pity......Page 126 6.6 The political justification of singular tastes......Page 129 6.7 The inconsistency of Sadean cities......Page 131 7.1 A third way......Page 134 7.2 The painter of horror......Page 135 7.3 With neither indignation nor tender-heartedness......Page 137 7.4 The sublime and the picturesque......Page 140 7.5 Aesthetic difference......Page 143 7.6 The passivity of the object......Page 146 7.7 The operation of the sublime on pity......Page 148 8.1 Aesthetics and politics......Page 151 8.2 Resentment = denunciation + sentiment......Page 152 8.3 First use: Nietzsche against humanism......Page 156 8.4 Second use: Nietzsche with the rebels......Page 158 8.5 Sade in the Bastille......Page 160 8.6 The sovereign gutter-snipe......Page 162 8.7 The liberating release......Page 164 PART III The crisis of pity......Page 167 9.1 The proposals of commitment......Page 169 9.2 Real emotions and flctional emotions......Page 171 9.3 Four uncertainties......Page 172 9.4 First uncertainty: the conflict of beliefs......Page 174 9.5 Second uncertainty: the avoidance of reference......Page 179 9.6 1950: the Soviet camps and the identification of the victims......Page 181 9.7 1975: The Soviet camps and the crisis of denunciation......Page 187 10.1 Third uncertainty: the opacity of desire......Page 190 10.2 Fourth uncertainty: the vanity of intentions to act......Page 192 10.3 Humanitarian society and its enemies......Page 197 10.4 Justification of the humanitarian......Page 201 10.5 Media action......Page 203 10.6 The manifestation of speech......Page 205 10.7 Humanitarian action and social movement......Page 208 10.8 The politics of the present......Page 211 1 The politics of pity......Page 213 2 Taking sides......Page 216 3 The moral spectator......Page 219 4 The topic of denunciation......Page 225 5 The topic of sentiment......Page 227 6 The critique of sentimentalism......Page 228 7 The aesthetic topic......Page 233 8 Heroes and the accursed......Page 235 9 What reality has misfortune?......Page 241 10 How realistic is action?......Page 248 Index......Page 260 Cover 1 Half-title 3 Series-title 6 Title 9 Copyright 10 Contents 13 Preface 15 Acknowledgements 19 PART I The question of the spectator 21 1 The politics of pity 23 1.1 Pity and justice 23 1.2 Compassion and pity 25 1.3 The Good Samaritan 27 1.4 The community bond 29 1.5 The question of commitment 31 1.6 Distance and action 33 1.7 Paying and speaking 37 2 Taking sides 40 2.1 The requirement of public speech 40 2.2 Fictional suffering and real suffering 41 2.3 The unacceptability of ‘that’s how it is’ 43 2.4 Theatre and politics 44 2.5 The pure spectator 47 2.6 Taking sides 50 2.7 Detachment and commitment 52 3 The moral spectator 55 3.1 The impartiality of the spectator 55 3.2 The powers of the imagination 58 3.3 The spectator of the spectator 59 3.4 The emotive style 61 3.5 The requirement of symmetry 63 3.6 Justice and beneficence 66 3.7 The coordination of emotional commitments 68 3.8 Nourishing the imagination 71 PART II The topics of suffering 75 4 The topic of denunciation 77 4.1 From indignation to accusation 77 4.2 Identification of the persecutor 78 4.3 The ‘affaire’ form 79 4.4 Social denunciation 81 4.5 From revolt to investigation 84 4.6 The metaphysics of justice 87 4.7 Criticism of denunciation 90 4.8 Denunciation and its critics 93 5 The topic of sentiment 97 5.1 The unfortunate’s gratitude 97 5.2 The sentiment of urgency 99 5.3 The metaphysics of interiority 101 5.4 The welling-up of emotion 102 5.5 A window on the place of the heart 105 5.6 The vocabulary of sentiments 111 5.7 Virtuous young women in distress 113 6 The critique of sentimentalism 116 6.1 The indulgence of sentiment 116 6.2 The duplicity of sham emotions 119 6.3 The ambiguous pleasure of sensitive hearts 121 6.4 The amateur of suffering 123 6.5 Sadistic pity 126 6.6 The political justification of singular tastes 129 6.7 The inconsistency of Sadean cities 131 7 The aesthetic topic 134 7.1 A third way 134 7.2 The painter of horror 135 7.3 With neither indignation nor tender-heartedness 137 7.4 The sublime and the picturesque 140 7.5 Aesthetic difference 143 7.6 The passivity of the object 146 7.7 The operation of the sublime on pity 148 8 Heroes and the accursed 151 8.1 Aesthetics and politics 151 8.2 Resentment = denunciation + sentiment 152 8.3 First use: Nietzsche against humanism 156 8.4 Second use: Nietzsche with the rebels 158 8.5 Sade in the Bastille 160 8.6 The sovereign gutter-snipe 162 8.7 The liberating release 164 PART III The crisis of pity 167 9 What reality has misfortune? 169 9.1 The proposals of commitment 169 9.2 Real emotions and flctional emotions 171 9.3 Four uncertainties 172 9.4 First uncertainty: the conflict of beliefs 174 9.5 Second uncertainty: the avoidance of reference 179 9.6 1950: the Soviet camps and the identification of the victims 181 9.7 1975: The Soviet camps and the crisis of denunciation 187 10 How realistic is action? 190 10.1 Third uncertainty: the opacity of desire 190 10.2 Fourth uncertainty: the vanity of intentions to act 192 10.3 Humanitarian society and its enemies 197 10.4 Justification of the humanitarian 201 10.5 Media action 203 10.6 The manifestation of speech 205 10.7 Humanitarian action and social movement 208 10.8 The politics of the present 211 Notes 213 1 The politics of pity 213 2 Taking sides 216 3 The moral spectator 219 4 The topic of denunciation 225 5 The topic of sentiment 227 6 The critique of sentimentalism 228 7 The aesthetic topic 233 8 Heroes and the accursed 235 9 What reality has misfortune? 241 10 How realistic is action? 248 Index 260

Images of starving children, bombed villages and mass graves brought to us by television in the comfort of our homes implicitly call on us to act. What can we do when the suffering we see is so distant and we feel powerless compared with the forces behind the suffering? Luc Boltanski examines the ways in which, since the end of the eighteenth century, spectators have tried to respond acceptably to what they have seen, and discusses whether there remains a place for pity in modern politics.

What is the morally acceptable response to images of starving children, bombed villages and mass graves brought to us by television? Luc Boltanski discusses the ways in which spectators have tried to respond to what they have seen and asks if there remains a place for pity in modern politics In the second chapter of her essay On Revolution, 'The Social Question', Hannah Arendt takes up the idea that in contrast with the American Revolution, the French Revolution neglected the question of liberty and of the form of government able to guarantee it. Examining the moral implications for a spectator of the distant suffering of others as presented through the media, this book asks what the morally acceptable responses are to suffering seen on TV, and what, if anything, the viewer can do