Together in need: Relational selfhood, vulnerability to harm, and enriching attachments

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Author(s)
Wolfe, Katharine
Date Issued
March 2, 2016
Abstract
Connections between one's own welfare and that of others abound if we pause to look for them, although philosophical theories of selfhood have only very recently begun to incorporate these connections. This essay draws on recent work on need to argue that one of the strongest expressions of these connections is to be found in the relational needs that they can generate. While paying heed to needs that arise from the relational nature of selfhood at large, this essay pays particular attention to what I call “transpersonal needs”: needs that occur when one's experience of the needs of others gives rise to certain needs of one's own. I argue that the best criterion for defining need is vulnerability to harm, but this does not mean that having a need is something that is purely harmful. Having certain needs can also enrich one's life. Further, while every need entails a corresponding vulnerability to harm, some of these potential harms are more detrimental to one's welfare than others, with some relational needs standing among those that can result in the greatest harm if unanswered.
Journal
The Southern Journal of Philosophy
Department
Philosophy & Religious Studies
Citation
Wolfe, K. (2016), Together in Need: Relational Selfhood, Vulnerability to Harm, and Enriching Attachments. The Southern Journal of Philosophy, 54: 129–148. doi: 10.1111/sjp.12164
Publisher
Wiley
Version of Article
Final manuscript post peer review, without publisher's formatting or copy editing (postprint)
Embargo
This version of the article is available for viewing to the public after March 2, 2018.
DOI
10.1111/sjp.12164
ISSN
0038-4283
2041-6962
Rights
"Preprint - immediately / Postprint - 2 yr embargo (March 2, 2018)"
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