Wisdom of Crowds Trust, Politics and Community
Nov 1, 2025
Tamar Gendler, a Yale philosopher specializing in philosophical psychology, delves into the nature of trust and its political implications. She debates whether humans are naturally suspicious or inherently social beings. Gendler discusses the importance of context in trust, contrasting Hobbes' individualism with Aristotle's view of humans as community-oriented. The conversation also explores how institutions can restore trust and prevent betrayal, highlighting the delicate balance between communal harmony and the need for security.
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Trust As Reliance On Expected Nature
- Tamar Gendler defines trust primarily as reliance on another agent to perform tasks you outsource to them.
- Trust requires an assumption about the nature of humans analogous to believing a chair is sturdy.
Hobbesian View: Rational Defection Without Structure
- Gendler presents the Hobbesian view: without structure, life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
- She argues rational actors will defect in cooperation games unless incentives or enforcement exist.
Aristotelian Account Of Human Sociality
- Sam Kimbriel invokes Aristotle: humans are inherently political and social animals who cannot flourish alone.
- He uses examples like child dependence and feral children to show sociality is foundational.
