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The Ethics and Politics of Child Naming
Author(s) -
Sarajlic Eldar
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of applied philosophy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.339
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1468-5930
pISSN - 0264-3758
DOI - 10.1111/japp.12231
Subject(s) - permissive , argument (complex analysis) , politics , intervention (counseling) , government (linguistics) , sociology , epistemology , state (computer science) , law , law and economics , political science , psychology , philosophy , linguistics , biochemistry , chemistry , genetics , algorithm , psychiatry , computer science , biology
This article examines the issue of justification of government's intervention in the parental acts of child naming, a neglected topic in the recent philosophical literature. It questions the ability of some of the current theories in family ethics to respond to this problem, and argues that both permissive and restrictive theories fail to provide a plausible argument about the proper limits of government regulation of child naming practices. The article outlines an alternative solution that focuses on the child's right to authenticity and suggests that only those names that infringe upon this right invite justified state intervention.