Abstract
David Shoemaker has argued that autistic persons cannot be held accountable and are not members of the moral community. Arguing against this conclusion, this article both corrects the view of autism contained in Shoemaker’s paper and resituates his theory of accountability within a Christian virtue ethic based on the gift of friendship. The call to be accountable to God for one’s life contains within it the gift of God’s friendship and does not require the capacity for empathy ( contra Shoemaker) or joint attention ( contra Pinsent) as a prerequisite. Instead, the inclusion of autistic people within the moral community created by the call of God highlights that accountability is a grace given for the flourishing of all persons.
Highlights
Accountability is a concept currently more associated with discourse in business and management than with Christian ethics
Oftentimes, accountability is referred to in a way that makes it seem entirely synonymous with responsibility, with a particular concern for dishing out due punishment
One advantage of viewing accountability in the wider scope of virtue ethics is that it allows Christians to consider themselves accountable to God for their lives as a whole and enables further reflection upon how we might actively cultivate and excel at being accountable
Summary
Accountability is a concept currently more associated with discourse in business and management than with Christian ethics. I want to reject Shoemaker’s exclusion of autistic persons from the moral community by relocating accountability within Christian virtue ethics. Virtue ethics does not necessarily demand that this right disposition or feeling is achieved through empathy This is important if we are to move beyond exclusions of autism that are based on the (widely discredited) claim that autistic people can’t empathise with others, and to give a more stable basis for interhuman accountability and the Christian claim that we see ourselves as being held accountable by the personal God, revealed in Jesus Christ
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
