Judas, Jesus and Betrayal

What Can We Learn for the Philosophy of Trust?

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Good philosophy will take inspiration and insight from anywhere. So when we’re thinking about the relationship between trust and betrayal, regardless of our theological views, there’s something to be said about reflecting on one of the most discussed cases of alleged betrayal in the last 2000 years: Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.

So how can a centuries-old tale help us to make progress today?

To answer this, we need to get a little bit of perspective on some of the initial thoughts that philosophers have had about trust and betrayal.

Philosophy and the connection between trust and betrayal

Annette Baier (1986) is often seen as the original source of the view in the philosophy of trust that all breaches of trust require a betrayal. Indeed, she is frequently credited with the idea that what sets trust apart from mere reliance is that a violation of trust results in betrayal — or at least the sense of being betrayed (see Stout 2022 for this view).

There’s something pretty intuitive about that kind of idea. Imagine you hire a taxi to take you to the airport. You rely on the driver to get you there on time. If the taxi breaks down, despite being in good condition and…