Climates of Distrust

FAIN: FT-291498-23

Laura Specker Sullivan
Fordham University (Bronx, NY 10458-9993)

Research and writing two chapters of a philosophical book on social theories of trust.

Climates of Distrust accounts for the relationship between individual decisions to trust and social contexts. The book pairs conceptual analyses of philosophical and social scientific theories of trust with case studies of trust during the COVID-19 pandemic, including vaccination, masking, and mutual aid, to illustrate the relationship between individual and social trust in a unified account, termed “climates.” This account offers a new framework for conceptualizing the relationship between social contexts and individual decision-making. It explains the diffusion of distrust in a community without individual responsibility and reveals how re-envisioning interpersonal relationships can rebuild more just and inclusive social systems.