Charm: A Philosophical Perspective

What exactly is going on when we get ‘taken in'' by the appeal of a charming person? Is the person who is falsely charming really doing anything wrong? What sorts of problems could charm cause in the workplace or in other social situations? Trying to pin down these issues becomes doubly difficult because we may not even be sure of what charm actually is. Does it have anything to do with things like tact or politeness? Is it something that people are—like a character trait—or is it something they do? Since very little has been written on it in a rigorous fashion, this work is intended to offer up charm as a serious and worthwhile subject of philosophical analysis by laying out what it is we mean when we refer to charm or charming people, as well as drawing out some of the implications it can have for our social and moral lives. This book is intended to uncover new and fertile ground not only for researchers in moral as well as social and political philosophy, but also for anyone interested in considering more carefully some of the challenges and issues that charm can raise.