Gossip

Hotel Bar Sessions

The HBS hosts spill the tea about tales whispered, secrets shared, and reputations shaped.

Gossip seems like exactly the sort of topic that serious philosophers would wave their hands in disgust at, as not worthy of consideration. Hesiod, the ancient Greek poet, once declared, "Gossip is mischievous, light and easy to raise, but grievous to bear and hard to get rid of," and similarly, in Leviticus, we find Moses warning his people with the admonition, "Do not go up and down as a talebearer among your people." Both remind us of gossip’s ability to captivate our attention, and the real harms it can inflict.

Yet, it’s not so easy to just dismiss gossip as mere frivolous chatter. Some evolutionary biologists link the emergence of language itself to gossip, and sociologists have long argued that the ability to engage in gossip played a vital role in our species' development, enabling us to form complex social networks, navigate alliances, and share information about others.

Gossip is not without its dual nature. It serves as a source of transmission for both amity and enmity. It can strengthen social bonds, create a sense of belonging, and forge alliances… but it also has the power to breed division, stoke resentment, and destroy reputations.

Is gossip a necessary, even essential, operation of human sociality? Is gossiping morally blameworthy in every instance, or are there instances in which gossiping is justified? What distinguishes “gossiping” from “reporting,” or “divulging,” or even just “communicating”?

Full episode notes at this link:
https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/episode-98-gossip

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