Gratitude and Inequality

• In Event: 35.082 - Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: 35.082-6 - Forging Connections: Literature, Psychology, Philosophy, and Education

Abstract

Gratitude has renewed popularity today. It is said to reduce resentment and increase happiness, leading to prosocial behavior. Philosophically it is seen as a just response to benevolence or lack of harm, a preventative measure against harm, and a virtue promoting relationships and personal improvement. Some argue that one should cultivate gratitude even toward those who do you harm, as well as to those whom you benefit. There is seemingly no case in which gratitude is not positive. This paper aims to challenge the view of gratitude as always justifiable, tracing limitations in philosophical literature, and contextualizing gratitude and ingratitude in nonideal settings marked by inequality, using examples from Toni Morrison’s work.

Author

• Liz Jackson, University of Hong Kong