Solidatiry and Contemplation.

In an earlier paper (Arnsperger and Varoufakis, 1999) we proposed solidatiry as an umbrella concept encompassing acts (or inclinations to perform them) motivated by a felling that some group (e.g. refugees) is entitled to our support independantly (a) of our sympathy (or lack therof) for its members as individuals, or (b) of any expectations (others' or, indeed, our own) regarding our conduct. This definition poses a challenge for instrumental accounts of rational activity vis-a-vis others. For if we are not 'moved' euther by sympathy nor by social expectation, what is that energises us and imparts the capacity for solidarity? Our suggestion is that, to answer this question, we need to explore the conceptual space between preferences and actions which rational choice theory has abolished.