civility

Something that seems to be particularly challenging for many people in mediated, on-line discussions.

Civility means knowing the often-somewhat-arbitrary social conventions of those you live among so that you can know how your behavior is interpreted and act accordingly (e.g. you may not mean any offense by wearing a bright floral print outfit to a funeral, but your lack of knowledge of social conventions in this case is something of a vice). Conventionality and conformity are a double-edged sword, however, and can be temptations to non-virtuous behavior in some circumstances.

Complementary virtues¶

• charity
• conversational competence
• courtesy
• decorum
• niceness
• peace promoting
• tact
• tolerance

Contrasting vices¶

• anti-social
• blundering
• divisive
• off-putting
• out-of-touch / out-of-step
• rude
• shrill
• tone-deaf

Virtues possibly in tension¶

• righteous anger

How to acquire or strengthen it¶

TBD

Notes and links¶

• Amy Olberding on civility, particularly in Chinese philosophy and more in that vein and 20 Theses Regarding Civility

Mentioned elsewhere¶

• One of Shannon Vallor’s "technomoral virtues"

Inspirational quotes¶

• “Sane people did what their neighbors did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them.” —George Eliot (Middlemarch)