On Trust and Trustworthiness
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On Trust and Trustworthiness Sophie Vivian A dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 6 December 2019 School of Humanities and Languages The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia Abstract There has been a long-standing tendency in both the philosophical and non- philosophical literature in the English-speaking world to view trust and trustworthiness primarily as three-place relations. Trust is: A trusts B to do X, and trustworthiness is: B doing X for A. This three-place schematic reflects English language use regarding the word “trust” as well as the widely-held beliefs that: 1) cooperation and knowledge acquisition are normally underpinned by trust and trustworthiness, 2) trust is a ubiquitous cognitive expectation classifiable as a distinct kind of reliance, and 3) trustworthiness is the ubiquitous fulfilment of that expectation classifiable as a distinct kind of reliability (often moralised-reliability). In this dissertation, it is argued that trust and trustworthiness are not three-place relations, and that thinking of them in this manner distorts the role they play in our lives. Instead, this dissertation proposes that trust and trustworthiness are each one-half of a two-place relation, and emphasises the special, private, complex, and interactive nature of this relation, rather than the behaviours (cooperation/reliance etc.) and expectations (belief/obligation etc.) often associated with it. The classification of trust and trustworthiness as being non-cognitive and non-moralised is essential, since a definitive feature of trust and trustworthiness is their remarkable capacity for non-conformity when it comes to the rules governing areas of our lives such as: social-communication, normative-behaviour, moral reasoning and moral action, truth, knowledge, rationality and agency. Acknowledging this anomalous rule-breaking facet of our humanity, which is similar to love, facilitates a better understanding of human behaviour and it allows us to divorce important questions about trust and trustworthiness from other distinct questions in epistemology and ethics. For David, for showing me trust and making me worthy. Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to acknowledge my supervisor Michaelis Michael, for providing sound advice and considered guidance throughout my candidature. I would also like to thank the supportive staff in the Philosophy department at UNSW Sydney. In particular, my co-supervisor Melissa Merritt for introducing me to Iris Murdoch, and Markos Valaris for his role in sparking my initial interest in philosophy. I am grateful for the instruction provided by Professor Tony Attwood from Griffith University Queensland, who generously took the time to share his expertise in Theory of Mind with me. Both Paul Faulkner of The University of Sheffield and Richard Holton of Cambridge University kindly spared their time to answer my emails, and for this, I thank them. I am indebted to Dr. Kirsty McKenzie, my non-philosopher mentor; our conversations over the years were invaluable. Lastly, a (quiet) shout-out to the autistic community. In particular, the autistic academics: Dr Damian Milton, Dr Melanie Yergeau, and Dr Elena Chandler, as well as the advocates: Shona Davis, Kieran Rose, and Sara Harvey, and authors: Yenn Perkis, Laura James, and Katherine May. Along with countless others, these individuals gently but determinedly give their time to share knowledge and resources with anyone willing to listen and learn. On a personal note, the irreplaceable individuals who supported all the other aspects of my life as I undertook this dissertation – my parents Lainie and Tony, my children Margaret and Hume, my dear friend Hamish, and my David – provided me with the love and trust, and so the expertise, that it really took to write this dissertation. Thank you all so very, very much. iv Thesis/Dissertation Sheet Surname/Family Name : Vivian Given Name/s : Sophie Abbreviation for degree as give in the University calendar : PhD (Philosophy) Faculty : Arts & Social Sciences School : Humanities & Languages Thesis Title : On Trust and Trustworthiness Abstract 350 words maximum: There has been a long-standing tendency in both the philosophical and nonphilosophical literature in the English-speaking world to view trust and trustworthiness primarily as three-place relations. Trust is: A trusts B to do X, and trustworthiness is: B doing X for A. This three-place schematic reflects English language use regarding the word “trust” as well as the widely-held beliefs that: 1) cooperation and knowledge acquisition are normally underpinned by trust and trustworthiness, 2) trust is a ubiquitous cognitive expectation classifiable as a distinct kind of reliance, and 3) trustworthiness is the ubiquitous fulfilment of that expectation classifiable as a distinct kind of reliability (often moralised-reliability). In this dissertation, it is argued that trust and trustworthiness are not three-place relations, and that thinking of them in this manner distorts the role they play in our lives. Instead, this dissertation proposes that trust and trustworthiness are each one-half of a two-place relation, and emphasises the special, private, complex, and interactive nature of this relation, rather than the behaviours (cooperation/reliance etc.) and expectations (belief/obligation etc.) often associated with it. The classification of trust and trustworthiness as being non-cognitive and non-moralised is essential, since a definitive feature of trust and trustworthiness is their remarkable capacity for non- conformity when it comes to the rules governing areas of our lives such as: social-communication, normative-behaviour, moral reasoning and moral action, truth, knowledge, rationality and agency. Acknowledging this anomalous rule-breaking facet of our humanity, which is similar to love, facilitates a better understanding of human behaviour and it allows us to divorce important questions about trust and trustworthiness from other distinct questions in epistemology and ethics. Declaration relating to disposition of project thesis/dissertation I hereby grant to the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all property rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I also authorise University Microfilms to use the 350 word abstract of my thesis in Dissertation Abstracts International. 06/12/2019 ………………………….………………… ………………………….…………………. …………………………………………… Signature Witness Signature Date The University recognises that there may be exceptional circumstances requiring restrictions on copying or conditions on use. Requests for restriction for a period of up to 2 years must be made in writing. Requests for a longer period of restriction may be considered in exceptional circumstances and require the approval of the Dean of Graduate Research. FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Date of completion of requirements for Award: v Inclusion of Publications Statement UNSW is supportive of candidates publishing their research results during their candidature as detailed in the UNSW Thesis Examination Procedure. Publications can be used in their thesis in lieu of a Chapter if: • The student contributed greater than 50% of the content in the publication and is the “primary author”, ie. the student was responsible primarily for the planning, execution and preparation of the work for publication • The student has approval to include the publication in their thesis in lieu of a Chapter from their supervisor and Postgraduate Coordinator. • The publication is not subject to any obligations or contractual agreements with a third party that would constrain its inclusion in the thesis Please indicate whether this thesis contains published material or not. ☒ This thesis contains no publications, either published or submitted for publication Some of the work described in this thesis has been published and it has been documented in the relevant Chapters with ☐ acknowledgement This thesis has publications (either published or submitted for publication) incorporated into it in lieu of a chapter ☐ and the details are presented below CANDIDATE’S DECLARATION I declare that I have complied with the Thesis Examination Procedure where I have used a publication in lieu of a Chapter, the listed publication(s) below meet(s) the requirements to be included in the thesis. Name Signature Date (dd/mm/yy) Sophie Vivian 06/12/2019 Postgraduate Coordinator’s Declaration I declare that the information below is accurate where listed publication(s) have been used in lieu of Chapter(s), their use complies with the Thesis Examination Procedure the minimum requirements for the format of the thesis have been met. PGC’s Name PGC’s Signature Date (dd/mm/yy) vi Originality Statement ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged