Cultures of Trust

Tom Simpson (University of Oxford)

In this talk I consider what sustains a culture of trust, arguing that it depends on embedded norms of trustworthiness, which norms have certain ‘ideational’ conditions—conditions which concern the ideas and normative principles which predominate within a population. I divide the ideational component into conditions which concern its content and its legitimacy. That norms of trustworthiness have an ideational component also indicates ways that a culture of trust may be undermined, and the chapter closes by considering one solvent of trust, namely egoism. I close by considering the relevance of a culture of trust for the social contract tradition, in light of the classic Hobbesian conception of the state of nature, and the role of the state and the law.

Tom Simpson is the incoming Alfred Landecker Professor of Values and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford and is also a Senior Research Fellow, Wadham College. He works on a variety of issues in moral and political philosophy, including trust, freedom, and issues in technology and security, such as the ethics of autonomous weapons. His book on trust, Trust: A Philosophical Study, was recently published by OUP (2023).