Defining goodwill in trust ethics

Abstract

What exactly is goodwill in trust ethics? I aim to propose a definition of goodwill in this essay. Up till now, there has been no proper definition of goodwill in trust-as-goodwill accounts. This is problematic because definitional clarity is fundamental to any debate. I will show that goodwill is not the meaningless catchall of positive motivations that it appears to be. I identify other agents as the key impetus for goodwill, where the moral dimension of goodwill is. Then I locate a part of the moral dimension in the commitment to meet certain needs, and the other part of the moral dimension in one’s not involving any consideration to meet one’s personal interest. However, my account is still not normatively strong enough and the phenomena of unwanted goodwill remain unexplained. I revise my goodwill account again to relocate its normative roots and explain the similarities it shares with Kant’s account of goodwill. Although my revised account still fails to explain unwanted goodwill, it offers a strong enough normative basis for goodwill in trust.