Victims and Victimhood - Softcover

Govier, Trudy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 155481099X ISBN 13: 9781554810994

Publisher: Broadview Press, 2015

Synopsis

Victims occupy a unique social role. In serious cases of victimhood, the claims of victims require a special degree of attention, and perhaps even deference on the part of an audience. Yet, victims are fallible, and an entirely uncritical attitude can lead to false allegations of wrongdoing or unwarranted preferential treatment. In this book, Trudy Govier adopts a careful approach, examining the very concept of victimhood and considering the practical implications of the various attitudes with which we may respond to victims. A range of real and hypothetical examples are considered to illustrate the complexity of the issues at play. Practical concerns are minded throughout, resulting in a book that is philosophically rigorous yet useful to any non-academic reader.

About this title

Review:

"This remarkably balanced and clear-headed book pursues philosophical questions about victims that philosophers have not much engaged. Trudy Govier asks us to think carefully about what makes someone a victim, whether a victim is necessarily innocent or credible, why victims need to be heard, and what victims really need and deserve. Some of these questions are uncomfortable, but all are essential. Govier has produced a unique examination, studded with timely examples, of issues surrounding victimhood that bear on crime, violence, war, trauma, and justice.--Margaret Urban Walker

"This book is so necessary to ethics. With the distinctive sensitivity and care that we have come to expect from her, Trudy Govier attends to the lived experiences of individuals. She offers good reasons to seek a more nuanced understanding of victimhood rather than dismiss 'victim' as a mere label or take its meaning for granted as obvious."--Kathryn J. Norlock

"Trudy Govier's remarkable insights and arguments have done much to shape and guide the growing literature on the nature and values of reconciliation. Now she turns her keen eye to a surprisingly under-theorized figure central to the aftermath of wrongdoing: the victim. In this thoughtful and challenging volume, Govier overturns received wisdom and subjects the ethics, epistemology, and politics of victimhood to new, philosophically rigorous scrutiny. The resulting analysis will benefit scholars and practitioners, teachers and students."--Alice MacLachlan

Comments:

“This remarkably balanced and clear-headed book pursues philosophical questions about victims that philosophers have not much engaged. Trudy Govier asks us to think carefully about what makes someone a victim, whether a victim is necessarily innocent or credible, why victims need to be heard, and what victims really need and deserve. Some of these questions are uncomfortable, but all are essential. Govier has produced a unique examination, studded with timely examples, of issues surrounding victimhood that bear on crime, violence, war, trauma, and justice.” — Margaret Urban Walker, Marquette University

“This book is so necessary to ethics. With the distinctive sensitivity and care that we have come to expect from her, Trudy Govier attends to the lived experiences of individuals. She offers good reasons to seek a more nuanced understanding of victimhood rather than dismiss ‘victim’ as a mere label or take its meaning for granted as obvious.” — Kathryn J. Norlock, Trent University

“Trudy Govier’s remarkable insights and arguments have done much to shape and guide the growing literature on the nature and values of reconciliation. Now she turns her keen eye to a surprisingly under-theorized figure central to the aftermath of wrongdoing: the victim. In this thoughtful and challenging volume, Govier overturns received wisdom and subjects the ethics, epistemology, and politics of victimhood to new, philosophically rigorous scrutiny. The resulting analysis will benefit scholars and practitioners, teachers and students.” — Alice MacLachlan, York University

“This remarkably balanced and clear-headed book pursues philosophical questions about victims that philosophers have not much engaged. Trudy Govier asks us to think carefully about what makes someone a victim, whether a victim is necessarily innocent or credible, why victims need to be heard, and what victims really need and deserve. Some of these questions are uncomfortable, but all are essential. Govier has produced a unique examination, studded with timely examples, of issues surrounding victimhood that bear on crime, violence, war, trauma, and justice.” — Margaret Urban Walker, Marquette University

“This book is so necessary to ethics. With the distinctive sensitivity and care that we have come to expect from her, Trudy Govier attends to the lived experiences of individuals. She offers good reasons to seek a more nuanced understanding of victimhood rather than dismiss ‘victim’ as a mere label or take its meaning for granted as obvious.” — Kathryn J. Norlock, Trent University

“Trudy Govier’s remarkable insights and arguments have done much to shape and guide the growing literature on the nature and values of reconciliation. Now she turns her keen eye to a surprisingly under-theorized figure central to the aftermath of wrongdoing: the victim. In this thoughtful and challenging volume, Govier overturns received wisdom and subjects the ethics, epistemology, and politics of victimhood to new, philosophically rigorous scrutiny. The resulting analysis will benefit scholars and practitioners, teachers and students.” — Alice MacLachlan, York University

"This remarkably balanced and clear-headed book pursues philosophical questions about victims that philosophers have not much engaged. Trudy Govier asks us to think carefully about what makes someone a victim, whether a victim is necessarily innocent or credible, why victims need to be heard, and what victims really need and deserve. Some of these questions are uncomfortable, but all are essential. Govier has produced a unique examination, studded with timely examples, of issues surrounding victimhood that bear on crime, violence, war, trauma, and justice." -- Margaret Urban Walker, Marquette University

"This book is so necessary to ethics. With the distinctive sensitivity and care that we have come to expect from her, Trudy Govier attends to the lived experiences of individuals. She offers good reasons to seek a more nuanced understanding of victimhood rather than dismiss 'victim' as a mere label or take its meaning for granted as obvious." -- Kathryn J. Norlock, Trent University

"Trudy Govier's remarkable insights and arguments have done much to shape and guide the growing literature on the nature and values of reconciliation. Now she turns her keen eye to a surprisingly under-theorized figure central to the aftermath of wrongdoing: the victim. In this thoughtful and challenging volume, Govier overturns received wisdom and subjects the ethics, epistemology, and politics of victimhood to new, philosophically rigorous scrutiny. The resulting analysis will benefit scholars and practitioners, teachers and students." -- Alice MacLachlan, York University

"This remarkably balanced and clear-headed book pursues philosophical questions about victims that philosophers have not much engaged. Trudy Govier asks us to think carefully about what makes someone a victim, whether a victim is necessarily innocent or credible, why victims need to be heard, and what victims really need and deserve. Some of these questions are uncomfortable, but all are essential. Govier has produced a unique examination, studded with timely examples, of issues surrounding victimhood that bear on crime, violence, war, trauma, and justice." -- Margaret Urban Walker, Marquette University

"This book is so necessary to ethics. With the distinctive sensitivity and care that we have come to expect from her, Trudy Govier attends to the lived experiences of individuals. She offers good reasons to seek a more nuanced understanding of victimhood rather than dismiss 'victim' as a mere label or take its meaning for granted as obvious." -- Kathryn J. Norlock, Trent University

"Trudy Govier's remarkable insights and arguments have done much to shape and guide the growing literature on the nature and values of reconciliation. Now she turns her keen eye to a surprisingly under-theorized figure central to the aftermath of wrongdoing: the victim. In this thoughtful and challenging volume, Govier overturns received wisdom and subjects the ethics, epistemology, and politics of victimhood to new, philosophically rigorous scrutiny. The resulting analysis will benefit scholars and practitioners, teachers and students." -- Alice MacLachlan, York University

From the Back Cover:

Who is a victim? Considerations of innocence typically figure in our notions of victimhood, as do judgments about causation, responsibility, and harm. Those identified as victims are sometimes silenced or blamed for their misfortune--responses that are typically mistaken and often damaging. However, other problems arise when we defer too much to victims, being reluctant to criticize their judgments or testimony. Reaching a sensitive and yet critical stand on victims' credibility is a difficult matter.

In this book, Trudy Govier carefully examines the concept of victimhood and considers the practical implications of the various attitudes with which we may respond to victims. These issues are explored with reference to a range of complex examples, including child victims of institutional abuse and the famed Rigoberta Menchu controversy. Further topics include the authority of personal experience, restorative justice, restitution, forgiveness, and closure.

About this edition

• Publisher: Broadview Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 155481099X
• ISBN 13: 9781554810994
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 248