Not Giving Up on People

Barrett Emerick and Audrey Yap have written a humanistic book, in the best sense of that term. Their work is rigorous, carefully argued, empirically informed, original, and focused on making life better. They take both responsibility and forgiveness seriously, asking how to heal after harm in a way that respects both the perpetrator and the victim of that harm. This book connects prison abolition, conflict resolution, feminism, and much more into an important new vision of individual and societal transformation.

— Mark Lance, professor of philosophy and justice and peace, Georgetown University

In this elegant and energetic work, philosophers Barrett Emerick and Audrey Yap explore the reach and significance of moral abandonment in human relations. Carefully expanding upon ideas developed by a variety of authors and activists, they gently but firmly urge us to reflect on how often and in what circumstances we ignore or give up on people who, fairly or unfairly, have been accused of wrongdoing.

— Elizabeth V. Spelman, professor of philosophy, 

Smith College

Emerick and Yap are doing the very best kind of philosophy in this book—accessible, gripping, caring, and grounded in real world concerns. Not Giving Up on People presents a passionate case for empathy, forgiveness and solidarity and encourages readers to imagine how to become their best selves while working together toward more just futures.

— Lori Gruen, Wesleyen University, 

author of Entangled Empathy

Barrett Emerick and Audrey Yap make an intellectually and emotionally powerful case for moving from retribution to repair in our response to those who have caused harm. Recognizing our entanglement in each other’s pasts and possibilities, they help us see incarceration as abandonment—the antithesis of holding each other responsible.

— Naomi Scheman, professor emerita of philosophy and gender, women, & sexuality studies, University of Minnesota