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Activism And Offense : A Philosophical Analysis, Stef Mcgraw

Honors Program Theses

In the realm of interpersonal interactions, there are many pieces of conventional wisdom that dictate how most Americans ought to behave. One such example of this is that Americans ought to “do good” in the world. This could mean simply acting kindly to others, but more often it is meant as taking explicit action to promote positive change in the world. Another social norm is that Americans, particularly Iowans and other Midwesterners1 , ought to “avoid causing offense.” It is not difficult to see how these two norms sometimes collide, since positive change often entails the transformation of social norms …