tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post8703901209210590394..comments2024-01-29T14:24:46.852-05:00Comments on Wes Ellis: Jimmy Kimmel and the Savage Childwellis68http://www.blogger.com/profile/06087588494600746854noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-36351988498558863922015-11-18T11:44:23.527-05:002015-11-18T11:44:23.527-05:00W,
Thanks for the tip towards those resources. As...W,<br /><br />Thanks for the tip towards those resources. As my long delay in answering should imply, life is full at my end.<br /><br />The binary child-adult isn't so simple when we introduce various distinct age groupings; newborn-toddler-tween-teen-young adult-geriatric adult etc. Symmetry and models based on it work well in binaries but get messed up, I think, in more complex systems. Not to accuse you of dumbing something down but to say that the category "child" and the category "adult" need further definition and in that might take on meanings that do not lead to neat symmetry.<br /><br />Keep at it Wes. I appreciate your thoughts and promptings.<br /><br />b.blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00079860332601911006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-56811275762042875332015-11-09T07:10:58.161-05:002015-11-09T07:10:58.161-05:00Blair, this is a great question!
I do not wish to...Blair, this is a great question! <br />I do not wish to suggest that there should not be a different understanding between children and adults, indeed there must! There is a difference between the child and the adult and while biology plays its part, I find my resources in anthropology and methods of ethnography for sorting through difference, even differences that emerge through biological contributions. Children are not aliens but nor are they just (less sophisticated) versions of ourselves (to channel Clifford Geertz). I would want to be critical of any approach (like perhaps Robert Epstein's) that wants to conflate childhood (and youth) and adulthood. The difference is important and I would go further to say that it not only demands different understanding but different responsibilities from children and adults--responsibilities for each other. The difference is ethically symmetrical, rejecting a strict progressive hierarchy, but different nonetheless. Adults have specific responsibilities toward children that cannot be ignored (though it is not simply a responsibility of assimilation). This is extremely important when we're considering vulnerability and public policy. <br /><br />There's certainly more to be said, but this is where I'd start. <br /><br />Recently, I am finding great resources in disability studies (especially the work of John Swinton) for sorting through the question of difference, but two resources that have been most helpful in this are Erin Raffety's short article "Minimizing social distance" and especially John Wall's work in Christian ethics (particularly his book 'Ethics in Light of Childhood' and his wonderful article, "Childhood Studies, Hermeneutics, and Theological Ethics").<br /><br />Thanks for the question, Blair! <br />-Wes<br />wellis68https://www.blogger.com/profile/06087588494600746854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-7616865201265912352015-11-09T03:38:55.129-05:002015-11-09T03:38:55.129-05:00As usual, perceptive and in that empathetic awaren...As usual, perceptive and in that empathetic awareness a powerful advocacy emerges.<br /><br />Given that children are full persons and that it can hardly be said that adult persons have a corner on a more progressive personhood, two quick thoughts come to mind. As much as they do not determine value of individuals, do biological differences that are epigenetic not seem to demand a different understanding between children and adults? Is there not some way of describing the differences between people that does not resort to a strict progressive hierarchy?blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00079860332601911006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-48071217114418763262015-11-09T03:38:43.422-05:002015-11-09T03:38:43.422-05:00As usual, perceptive and in that empathetic awaren...As usual, perceptive and in that empathetic awareness a powerful advocacy emerges.<br /><br />Given that children are full persons and that it can hardly be said that adult persons have a corner on a more progressive personhood, two quick thoughts come to mind. As much as they do not determine value of individuals, do biological differences that are epigenetic not seem to demand a different understanding between children and adults? Is there not some way of describing the differences between people that does not resort to a strict progressive hierarchy?blairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00079860332601911006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11928317.post-40944459235939116422015-11-09T01:44:17.876-05:002015-11-09T01:44:17.876-05:00Absolutely brilliant!Absolutely brilliant!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04366054479011225495noreply@blogger.com