ABSTRACT
While partiality is ubiquitous, the set of concepts used to understand partiality has been quite limited. Partiality is primarily analyzed in terms of loyalty: people are loyal to their families, sports fans are often loyal to their team, patriotism is generally seen as a form of loyalty to one’s country, and it is common to describe certain consumers as brand loyalists. This chapter contends it is a mistake to restrict an understanding of all these forms of partiality to loyalty. To better understand the nuances of this moral domain, a conceptual repertoire that can distinguish between different forms of partiality is required. This chapter takes a first step in accomplishing that aim by introducing the virtue of affinity – the ability to passionately throw oneself into something out of proportion to its value without getting swept away into unjustifiable conduct.
The argument begins in what may seem an unexpected place: sports fandom. In cheering for a sports team, the emotional tenor of our partial commitments is ratcheted all the way up while the objective importance of what we are engaged in is ratcheted (almost) all the way down. In successfully navigating this peculiar environment, the virtuous fan offers a paradigmatic case study in the virtue of affinity.
