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On Agonising: Street Charity and First Ethics

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Abstract

To agonise is to “undergo great mental anguish through worrying about something,” according to the New Oxford Dictionary of English. I suggest that agonising in this sense is a fundamental response to any ethical dilemma. It has a long intellectual and literary lineage. In this essay, I agonise over the dilemmas posed by street beggars, their intrusiveness and their appeal to our intuitive sense of social duty. I explore the discomfort we may feel at their presence, and the value that discomfort may have for the evolution of our ethical lives.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Values, Ethics & the Law in Medicine, University of Sydney, Building K25, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    John Miles Little

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  1. John Miles Little
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Correspondence to John Miles Little.

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Little, J.M. On Agonising: Street Charity and First Ethics. Bioethical Inquiry 7, 321–327 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-010-9240-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-010-9240-8

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