On Dependence

Alasdair MacIntyre writes in Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues about dolphins and dependence. On the topic of our interactions with those who are dependent, such as those with extreme forms of disability and those who are very young or very old, he writes,

"How could they be our teachers? ... What they give us is the possibility of learning something essential, what it is for someone else to be wholly entrusted to our care, so that we are answerable for their well-being."

He goes on to point out that there are two aspects to this caring: first, the physical care, and, secondly, acting as a proxy, or as a voice for those who are unable to speak. In addition, then, to the evil of not treating a person in accord with his dignity, there is an additional evil for a society in losing the ability to speak for the disabled and dependent properly because it is not actively caring for them.