The Problem of Dirty Hands in Democracies

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by White Rose E-theses Online The Problem of Dirty Hands in Democracies Christina Nick Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Leeds School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of Science September 2019 The candidate confirms that the work submitted is her own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. The right of Christina Nick to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. © 2019 The University of Leeds and Christina Nick 1 Acknowledgements This thesis has only been possible because of the huge support that I have received over the last four years from the amazing people around me. I owe all of you my eternal gratitude (and probably a lot of pints). First and foremost I have to thank my supervisors Carl Fox and Rob Lawlor for painstakingly tearing apart everything that I have written over the years and making me re-write it until it started to vaguely resemble a philosophical argument. Thank you for taking the time to read through all of my ramblings and assuring me that I could finish this project when I didn’t believe it myself. I would not have been able to write this thesis without the financial support from the IDEA Centre. Thank you for taking a chance on me! A special thanks goes to the people who have given me feedback on the various bits and pieces that later formed this thesis. This includes, though not exhaustively: John Baldari, Jamie Dow, Derek Edyvane, Tom Hancocks, Morten Højer Jensen, Gerald Lang, Andrew Stanners, Demetris Tillyris, and Steve de Wijze. Thank you also to the community at the IDEA Centre. You have made this an enjoyable space to be a part of. A big thank you has to go to Sarah Foster, Florence Jullien, Paul McShane, Rosa Stevens, Rachael Bowerbank and Ange Blackburn who have gone above and beyond their job description to help me keep my sanity when I was on the verge of losing it. My special thanks go to Tadhg O’Laoghaire and Nathan Wood without whom this whole experience would not have been the same. I have a giant framed picture of you in my office. That says it all. I also have to thank the PRHS postgraduate community. Being part of such an amazing group of researchers has been a pleasure and provided me with a great excuse to go to the pub every Friday evening. A special shout out goes to Hollie Gowan, Emily Herring, and Alice Murphy who gave me the emotional support I needed to finish this PhD. Thank you for always being there, whether it was to help me celebrate my achievements or to build me back up when I felt like I was failing. I could not have done it without the three of you. I never would have even made it this far without the unwavering support, financial or otherwise, of my family. Mama, Papa, Melanie, Oma Adele, Oma Gertrud und Anette: danke für Alles. 2 And last, but certainly not least, to Nick. You are my rock. Thank you for always being there and believing in me. I’m sorry you had to proofread some of these chapters three times. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is. 3 Abstract This thesis explores the concept of dirty hands in democracies. It argues that dirty hands are instances of moral conflicts in which some of our core moral values and commitments clash. Accepting the existence of such a clash, contrary to what some critics have argued, does not have to be irrational and we can make sense of this phenomenon irrespective of the wider beliefs about the nature of rational moral judgement that we hold. The thesis goes on to defend the view that getting one’s hands dirty results in a moral remainder that can best be described as “tragic-remorse”. Experiencing this emotional response, it is argued, fulfils important functions because it helps the agent understand what is morally required in the situation, ensures that they deliberate in the right way, and makes their behaviour intelligible to others. The thesis then goes on to argue that being confronted with a dirty hands conflict is particularly pernicious because, once faced with such a situation, it is impossible to keep our hands clean. Dirty hands therefore point us towards morality’s tragic nature. The thesis then questions what this means for democratic politics. It rejects criticisms that dirty hands can, neither in theory nor in practice, be compatible with democratic politics. If dirty-handed measures can indeed be a part of democratic politics, we should then ask who gets their hands dirty and can share the moral responsibility for the dirty-handed outcome. The thesis emphasises that political leaders do not share this burden alone. They act in a complicated web of relations with other politicians and public officials and many of them will get their hands dirty as well. Additionally, it is argued, to the extent that citizens voluntarily participate in or contribute to a given dirty-handed decision or the wider democratic process, they will also share some of the dirt and moral responsibility for what their politicians do for them and in their name. The thesis concludes by arguing that dirty hands in democratic politics are not borne by a single political leader acting alone, but are shared by many in the polity. 4 Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. ii Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... v 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 8 1.1. Democratic Dirty Hands................................................................................................... 8 1.2. Thesis Outline .................................................................................................................. 13 PART I - The Problem of Dirty Hands 2. Defining Dirty Hands ............................................................................................................. 19 2.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 19 2.2. Moral Conflict .................................................................................................................. 19 2.3. Value Conflict and Dirty Hands .................................................................................... 22 2.4. The Standard View of Dirty Hands .............................................................................. 25 2.5. An Alternative View of Dirty Hands ............................................................................ 30 2.6. What Makes a Moral Conflict a Case of Dirty Hands? .............................................. 32 2.7. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 37 3. Can Our Hands Stay Clean? .................................................................................................. 38 3.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 38 3.2. Symmetry and Asymmetry in the Dirty Hands Literature ......................................... 39 3.3. The “Dirt” in Dirty Hands ............................................................................................. 42 3.4. Defending Symmetry ....................................................................................................... 48 3.5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 53 4. Emotions and Dirty Hands.................................................................................................... 55 4.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 55 4.2. The Rationality of Emotions .......................................................................................... 56 4.3. Agent-Regret and Tragic-Remorse ................................................................................ 61 5 4.4. The Function of Emotions in Dirty Hands ................................................................. 68 4.5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 72 PART II - The Problem of Democratic Dirty Hands 5. In Defence of Democratic Dirty Hands ............................................................................. 74 5.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 74 5.2. Background Assumptions .............................................................................................. 75 5.3. It's Contradictory in Principle to Use Undemocratic Means for Democratic Ends .........................................................................................................................................

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