Is There a Duty to Read the News?

It seems as though we have a duty to read the news – that we’re doing something wrong when we refuse to pay attention to what’s going on in the world. But why? I argue that some plausible justifications for a duty to read the news fail to fully explain this duty: it cannot be justified only by refer...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Berg, Amy (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2023
In: Journal of moral philosophy
Year: 2023, Volume: 20, Issue: 3/4, Pages: 243-267
Further subjects:B news
B Respect
B Moral Obligations
B imperfect duties
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:It seems as though we have a duty to read the news – that we’re doing something wrong when we refuse to pay attention to what’s going on in the world. But why? I argue that some plausible justifications for a duty to read the news fail to fully explain this duty: it cannot be justified only by reference to its consequences, or as a duty of democratic citizenship, or as a self-regarding duty. It can, however, be justified on the grounds that we have a positive, imperfect duty of respect for strangers, even when our actions don’t affect them directly. Reading the news is a key way, sometimes the only way, that we can respect those who are strangers to us. I close by considering some of the implications and limitations of this duty.
ISSN:1745-5243
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of moral philosophy
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/17455243-20223972