Old Times' Sake as a Moral Category

Abstract

In this paper I discuss the notion of old times’ sake, one which is hardly discussed by moral philosophers, and claim that it serves as a moral reason for us to act on behalf of the people we used to cherish: former friends, colleagues, neighbors, or spouses. While our relationship with them has ended, the building-blocks of our identity will continue to bear their fingerprints, and they will ever be an important part of our biography. Acting for old times’ sake reflects both our caring about them, and our caring about our own past, biography, and accumulated identity. Why the relationship has ceased will of course affect our attitude towards them. Although old times’ sake might not always be a decisive factor, it still serves as a moral reason for action.

Pacifism and Nonviolence: Discerning the Contours of an Emerging Multidisciplinary Research Agenda

“…Ihara, 1978;Martin, 1974;Narveson, 1965Narveson, , 1968Regan, 1972;Whitman, 1966). A frequent host of these debates since the 1990s has been Social Theory and Practice (Alexandra, 2003;Chae, 2018;Neu, 2011;Reitan, 1994;Sterba, 1992Sterba, , 1994, although those debates have grown louder in recent years and expanded to a wider range of outlets (Bazargan, 2014;Fiala, 2008Fiala, , 2014Holmes, 1989;Holmes, 2017;May, 2015a; christoyannopoulos Journal of Pacifism and Nonviolence 1 (2023) 1-27 McMahan, 2009McMahan, , 2010Narveson, 2013;Parkin, 2018;Ryan, 2013). At the core of that literature has been 'contingent pacifism' (sometimes called 'just war pacifism'), and much of it has focused largely on one rather narrow question: can war ever be just?…”