Moral Community, Faith, and Belief

The notion of a moral community resolves many paradoxes of human behavior.  How is it, after all, that a Nazi guard could return each day from his labors at the crematoria and then be a loving father to his children?  The answer is surprisingly straightforward:  The Jews he spent the day torturing and killing were not objects of his moral concern. Not only were they outside his moral community; they were antithetical to it.  His belief about Jews inured him to the natural human sympathies … [Read more...]