Thomas Brudholm | University of Copenhagen (original) (raw)

Papers by Thomas Brudholm

According to Bernard Williams, Paul Grice was 'fine' in saying that 'we should treat great and de... more According to Bernard Williams, Paul Grice was 'fine' in saying that 'we should treat great and dead philosophers as we treat great and living philosophers, as having something to say to us'. So long, Williams cunningly added, 'as it is not assumed that what the dead have to say to us is much the same as what the living have to say to us'. 2 With regard to the topic of hatred, I think that Plato and Aristotle have something to say to us, and it is not the same as what we -the living -are usually telling each other. It is also not entirely different, and this is one reason why their ancient views can fruitfully challenge how we think about the topic of hatred. The purpose of this chapter is to advance our conversation about hatred today, and to do so on the basis of a comparison between ancient and modern understandings of the concept.

Hatred is a complex and difficult thing, in life as well as in theory. Its history in Western phi... more Hatred is a complex and difficult thing, in life as well as in theory. Its history in Western philosophy is as long as the history of love. It begins, perhaps quite appropriately, with a warning.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 2009

Journal of Human Rights, 2006

Journal of Applied Philosophy, Jul 25, 2014

The discourse of hate crime has come to Europe, supported not least by international human rights... more The discourse of hate crime has come to Europe, supported not least by international human rights actors and security and policy organisations. In this article, I argue that there is a need for a philosophical response to challenging claims about the conceptualisation and classification of hate crime. First, according to several scholars, hate crime is extraordinarily difficult to conceptualise and there is a fatigue among practitioners caused by the lack of clarity and consensus in the field. I agree that there is a need, not for additional definitions, but for a more comprehensive conceptual framework, that may help us think more clearly about given definitions of hate crime; about their basic structure, cross-cutting problems, and possible variations. Supplying such a conceptual perspective represents a timely task for applied philosophy. I engage with this by offering a four-tiered concept of hate crime. Second, the involvement of human rights actors in the consolidation of hate crime law and policy in Europe has supported the classification of hate crime as a human rights violation. Ultimately, what is at stake is not only our understanding of hate crime, but also our maintenance of a precise and pointed discourse on human rights violations. I argue that we should hesitate or even abstain from classifying hate crime as a human rights violation, and that doing so is compatible with taking both hate crimes and human rights seriously.

Hate speech, red. af Rune E. Larsen, Jens Lohmann og Klaus Slavensky, 2013

Explores the question whether philosophical illumination of the concept of hate can benefit our u... more Explores the question whether philosophical illumination of the concept of hate can benefit our understanding of the phenomenon of hate speech.

Criminal Law and Philosophy, Nov 10, 2013

Review essay on Linda Radzik's Making Amends: Atonement in Morality, Law, and Politics, published... more Review essay on Linda Radzik's Making Amends: Atonement in Morality, Law, and Politics, published in 2009 by Oxford University Press.

Passions in Context, No 2, 2011

This volume of Passions in Context, edited by Annalise Acorn, Thomas Brudholm and Claudia Welz, c... more This volume of Passions in Context, edited by Annalise Acorn, Thomas Brudholm and Claudia Welz, contains a selection of articles that deal with the complex interrelation between the emotions provoked by atrocities and selfhood. The articles originate from the conference "Atrocities, Emotion, Self" that took place at the Center for Subjectivity Research, University of Copenhagen, on August 27--28, 2009. The conference was organized by Claudia Welz, Thomas Brudholm, and Arne Grøn.

Studies in Christian Ethics, Jan 1, 2011

The article addresses the question when the advocacy of forgiveness in the wake of political mass... more The article addresses the question when the advocacy of forgiveness in the wake of political mass violence can be harmful and immoral. It engages with this question primarily by probing the value of different pictures of forgiveness, most importantly Rembrandt's painting Return of the Prodigal Son and a photograph from post-genocide Rwanda. The critical examination of the value of particular pictures in the advocacy of forgiveness also involves attention to particularly problematic 'pictures' (in the sense of notions, imaginaries, representations) of the unforgiving victim, of the choices available to societies responding to a violent past, and of unconditional forgiving.

Philosophical papers, Jan 1, 2010

A peculiar and fascinating aspect of many responses to mass atrocities is the creative and eclect... more A peculiar and fascinating aspect of many responses to mass atrocities is the creative and eclectic use of religious language and frameworks. Some crimes are so extreme that they 'cry out to heaven', drawing people to employ religious vocabulary to make meaning of and to judge what happened, to deal with questions of guilt and responsibility, and to re-establish hope and trust in their lives. Moreover, in recent years, religious actors have become increasingly influential in worldwide contexts of conflict-resolution and transitional justice. This collection offers a critical assessment of the possibilities and problems pertaining to attempts to bring religious - or semi-religious - allegiances and perspectives to bear in responses to the mass atrocities of our time: When and how can religious language or religious beliefs and practices be either necessary or helpful? And what are the problems and reasons for caution or critique? In this book, a group of distinguished scholars explore these questions and offer a range of original explanatory and normative perspectives.

Law and Contemporary Problems, Jan 1, 2009

Most current talk of forgiveness and reconciliation in the aftermath of collective violence proce... more Most current talk of forgiveness and reconciliation in the aftermath of collective violence proceeds from an assumption that forgiveness is always superior to resentment and refusal to forgive. Victims who demonstrate a willingness to forgive are often celebrated as virtuous moral models, while those who refuse to forgive are frequently seen as suffering from a pathology. Resentment is viewed as a negative state, held by victims who are not "ready" or "capable" of forgiving and healing.

Resentment's Virtue offers a new, more nuanced view. Building on the writings of Holocaust survivor Jean Améry and the work of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Thomas Brudholm argues that the preservation of resentment can be the reflex of a moral protest that might be as permissible, humane or honorable as the willingness to forgive. Taking into account the experiences of victims, the findings of truth commissions, and studies of mass atrocities, Brudholm seeks to enrich the philosophical understanding of resentment.

Journal of Human Rights, Jan 1, 2006

HEDGEHOG REVIEW, Jan 1, 2005

According to Bernard Williams, Paul Grice was 'fine' in saying that 'we should treat great and de... more According to Bernard Williams, Paul Grice was 'fine' in saying that 'we should treat great and dead philosophers as we treat great and living philosophers, as having something to say to us'. So long, Williams cunningly added, 'as it is not assumed that what the dead have to say to us is much the same as what the living have to say to us'. 2 With regard to the topic of hatred, I think that Plato and Aristotle have something to say to us, and it is not the same as what we -the living -are usually telling each other. It is also not entirely different, and this is one reason why their ancient views can fruitfully challenge how we think about the topic of hatred. The purpose of this chapter is to advance our conversation about hatred today, and to do so on the basis of a comparison between ancient and modern understandings of the concept.

Hatred is a complex and difficult thing, in life as well as in theory. Its history in Western phi... more Hatred is a complex and difficult thing, in life as well as in theory. Its history in Western philosophy is as long as the history of love. It begins, perhaps quite appropriately, with a warning.

Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 2009

Journal of Human Rights, 2006

Journal of Applied Philosophy, Jul 25, 2014

The discourse of hate crime has come to Europe, supported not least by international human rights... more The discourse of hate crime has come to Europe, supported not least by international human rights actors and security and policy organisations. In this article, I argue that there is a need for a philosophical response to challenging claims about the conceptualisation and classification of hate crime. First, according to several scholars, hate crime is extraordinarily difficult to conceptualise and there is a fatigue among practitioners caused by the lack of clarity and consensus in the field. I agree that there is a need, not for additional definitions, but for a more comprehensive conceptual framework, that may help us think more clearly about given definitions of hate crime; about their basic structure, cross-cutting problems, and possible variations. Supplying such a conceptual perspective represents a timely task for applied philosophy. I engage with this by offering a four-tiered concept of hate crime. Second, the involvement of human rights actors in the consolidation of hate crime law and policy in Europe has supported the classification of hate crime as a human rights violation. Ultimately, what is at stake is not only our understanding of hate crime, but also our maintenance of a precise and pointed discourse on human rights violations. I argue that we should hesitate or even abstain from classifying hate crime as a human rights violation, and that doing so is compatible with taking both hate crimes and human rights seriously.

Hate speech, red. af Rune E. Larsen, Jens Lohmann og Klaus Slavensky, 2013

Explores the question whether philosophical illumination of the concept of hate can benefit our u... more Explores the question whether philosophical illumination of the concept of hate can benefit our understanding of the phenomenon of hate speech.

Criminal Law and Philosophy, Nov 10, 2013

Review essay on Linda Radzik's Making Amends: Atonement in Morality, Law, and Politics, published... more Review essay on Linda Radzik's Making Amends: Atonement in Morality, Law, and Politics, published in 2009 by Oxford University Press.

Passions in Context, No 2, 2011

This volume of Passions in Context, edited by Annalise Acorn, Thomas Brudholm and Claudia Welz, c... more This volume of Passions in Context, edited by Annalise Acorn, Thomas Brudholm and Claudia Welz, contains a selection of articles that deal with the complex interrelation between the emotions provoked by atrocities and selfhood. The articles originate from the conference "Atrocities, Emotion, Self" that took place at the Center for Subjectivity Research, University of Copenhagen, on August 27--28, 2009. The conference was organized by Claudia Welz, Thomas Brudholm, and Arne Grøn.

Studies in Christian Ethics, Jan 1, 2011

The article addresses the question when the advocacy of forgiveness in the wake of political mass... more The article addresses the question when the advocacy of forgiveness in the wake of political mass violence can be harmful and immoral. It engages with this question primarily by probing the value of different pictures of forgiveness, most importantly Rembrandt's painting Return of the Prodigal Son and a photograph from post-genocide Rwanda. The critical examination of the value of particular pictures in the advocacy of forgiveness also involves attention to particularly problematic 'pictures' (in the sense of notions, imaginaries, representations) of the unforgiving victim, of the choices available to societies responding to a violent past, and of unconditional forgiving.

Philosophical papers, Jan 1, 2010

A peculiar and fascinating aspect of many responses to mass atrocities is the creative and eclect... more A peculiar and fascinating aspect of many responses to mass atrocities is the creative and eclectic use of religious language and frameworks. Some crimes are so extreme that they 'cry out to heaven', drawing people to employ religious vocabulary to make meaning of and to judge what happened, to deal with questions of guilt and responsibility, and to re-establish hope and trust in their lives. Moreover, in recent years, religious actors have become increasingly influential in worldwide contexts of conflict-resolution and transitional justice. This collection offers a critical assessment of the possibilities and problems pertaining to attempts to bring religious - or semi-religious - allegiances and perspectives to bear in responses to the mass atrocities of our time: When and how can religious language or religious beliefs and practices be either necessary or helpful? And what are the problems and reasons for caution or critique? In this book, a group of distinguished scholars explore these questions and offer a range of original explanatory and normative perspectives.

Law and Contemporary Problems, Jan 1, 2009

Most current talk of forgiveness and reconciliation in the aftermath of collective violence proce... more Most current talk of forgiveness and reconciliation in the aftermath of collective violence proceeds from an assumption that forgiveness is always superior to resentment and refusal to forgive. Victims who demonstrate a willingness to forgive are often celebrated as virtuous moral models, while those who refuse to forgive are frequently seen as suffering from a pathology. Resentment is viewed as a negative state, held by victims who are not "ready" or "capable" of forgiving and healing.

Resentment's Virtue offers a new, more nuanced view. Building on the writings of Holocaust survivor Jean Améry and the work of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Thomas Brudholm argues that the preservation of resentment can be the reflex of a moral protest that might be as permissible, humane or honorable as the willingness to forgive. Taking into account the experiences of victims, the findings of truth commissions, and studies of mass atrocities, Brudholm seeks to enrich the philosophical understanding of resentment.

Journal of Human Rights, Jan 1, 2006

HEDGEHOG REVIEW, Jan 1, 2005