Question 10

McCloskey (as depicted by Allen) has a particular argument about lovers' entitlement to spy on one another.  What is it? Allen has a different argument--what is her argument?  Do you agree with either of them, or, do you have a different opinion, and if so, what is it?  Defend your opinion.

McCloskey argues that when two people are together in love, spying on one another is justified. "Yet love,and like it respect for persons, may dictate invasions of privacy. The lover, because of his love, wants to know all about his loved one, because he loves her, and wants to know her more fully as the person she is.... Love, and equally respect for persons, may dictate the seeking of knowledge against the wishes of the person concerned. The lover ... may suspect that she has a serious disease and is afraid to have it diagnosed and treated, and know that if it is ... it will not be fatal." (McCloskey pg 9) He's saying that  when two people are in serious relationship with each other, spying on each another is expected. By being in the relationship, you're giving the another person permission to seek information about you by any means necessary. 

Allen argues that spying on the significant other is fine as long as there's a reason of justification behind it. "In the case of a couple engaged to be married, that might mean that the partners are entitled to information and explanations about their pasts, and a reassuring degree of transparency about their present life and future plans. However, we need an argument to conclude that a lover has a right to sneak around and spy if his partner fails to perform or credibly perform the required accountability practices."(Allen pg.10) I agree with Allen's argument. I believe that if you're in a relationship with someone, you have to be honest about who you are. If not, that means you have something to hide and you've just gave them the right to pry information out of your by any means necessary.

If I was in a serious relationship with a guy for a while and we're considering marriage, I want to know about his past. I learned that in any kind of relationship, people have to be honest about how they are and what they want out of the relationship, if not, it won't work. I need to know whether or not I can trust him not to hurt me.  If he isn't giving me the information about his past, I might become suspicious, and reconsider my future with him. In that case, I'll do whatever it takes to get the information. Me spying on him would be justified. I'll talk to his family and friends about his past. I might find a private investigator to look into his past information. If I find that he has no wrongdoing in his past, then we're good. If I find that he got arrested for killing someone, or cheated on me while we were together ,or was doing drugs in the past, then we're done. By then, I know that I can breathe with ease knowing what I might have gotten myself into.