On Betrayal

Margalit (Schulman Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem) argues that betrayal is best understood as a blight on thick trust—trust in close relationships (friends, family, and community). He attempts to analyze this concept through the lenses of both analytic and continental philosophy, but the result lacks the clear distinctions and explanations of core ideas traditionally found in analytic philosophy. Margalit focuses on three kinds of betrayal: treason (political betrayal), adultery (sexual betrayal), and apostasy (religious betrayal), noting that shifting moral attitudes have robbed betrayal of its bite. Unfortunately, Margalit fails to lay a foundation for moral discourse, referring to kinds of morality—feudal, liberal, religious, sexual, and the like—without context or weight. For Margalit, the defining trait is that it is a pathology on so-called thick relationships, yet it is not even clear whether betrayal is inherently or merely occasionally morally unacceptable. Breaches of thin relationships (relationships among strangers) don't count as betrayal for Margalit; yet consider "thin" relationships such as those of doctor-patient and teacher-student—the scope and impact of these professions is influential, and any breach of trust serious—betrayal. It is hard to imagine a moral theory that is dismissive of such relationships being practical.