Metaphysics of Trust: On Freedom and Calculation in Social Cooperation (Issues in Business Ethics Book 61)

This book provides the foundations of trust amidst radical uncertainty. Specifically, it addresses the question of under what condition it is possible to trust relative strangers. As the first logical investigation of its kind, the book breaks with many preconceived ideas we have about trust and the scientific method that leads to its clarification. It builds on the insight that, contrary to widespread belief, it is not risk but freedom that is most fundamental for explaining trust. In fact, trust is the giving of freedom, out of freedom, and one’s consciousness of the potential risks involved merely disturbs one’s ability to trust. The book makes the twofold normative claim that any legitimate scientific preoccupation with trust must necessarily include the concept of freedom in its account, and that theories of trust that run against the logical prerequisites of freedom are a-priori falsified. It presents a theoretical proposal that makes sure that trust, instead of being constructed as a passive and functional “illusion” of natural love, is understood as the necessary product of an active reason that is oriented towards developing human autonomy. Preface 9 References 14 Acknowledgement 15 Contents 16 Part I: Axiomatic Evaluation 17 Chapter 1: What Is the Problem? 18 References 20 Chapter 2: The Conditional View of Trust 22 Moral Freedom vs Unmoral Determinacy 25 Normative Classification 27 Möllering’s Classification 29 Seligman’s Classification 32 The Conditionalist 37 Example: Redundancy of the Betting Formula 44 Trust vs Confidence 48 An Answer to Luhmann 50 Methodological Weakness 54 Conditional Moralism 56 The Problem Source: David Hume 59 References 67 Chapter 3: The Need for a Metaphysics of Trust 70 References 73 Part II: Metaphysics of Trust 74 Chapter 4: The Morality of Trust Within Freedom 75 §1. 75 §2. 75 §3. 76 §4. 76 §5. 77 §6. 77 §7. 78 §8. 78 §9. 79 §10. 80 §11. 82 §12. 82 §13. 83 §14. 84 §15. 84 §16. 86 §17. 87 §18. 87 §19. 88 §20. 88 §21. 90 §22. 90 References 93 Chapter 5: Trust Is a Function of Respect 95 §23. 95 §24. 96 §25. 97 §26. 110 §27. 110 §28. 112 References 114 Chapter 6: For the Sake of Duty 116 §29. 116 §30. 117 References 119 Chapter 7: Conclusion 120 Relevance 126 Theoretical Value 127 Form 127 Content in General 137 Content in Particular 139 Business Ethics Literature 139 Management Literature 149 Social Capital Literature 151 Practical Value 155 References 162