In any type of relationship between two or more people, there is some level of Trust that exists. The amount and type of Trust that can be established between individuals is based on a vast range of factors that make it difficult to decipher exactly what qualities in any person reflect trustworthiness. In fact, because there is no exact formula for how much Trust a person should give to or receive from another, it can be extremely challenging to try to define exactly what Trust is, what it looks like, or how it forms. Therefore, when trying to explain and define what Trust between two people really is, it is often best to show by example. However, after creating my three categories and examples of Trust, I found myself thinking back to our reading of The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis. It appeared that my analysis of Trust showed a surprising number of similarities to the way in which C.S. Lewis explained his analysis of The Four Loves. Therefore, I found it best to not only define Trust through the process of showing by example, but by comparing my own analysis of Trust to Lewis’s analysis of The Four Loves as well.

In the Oxford English Dictionary, Trust is defined in many ways, but most of the definitions follow a similar idea: “Confidence in or reliance on some quality or attribute of a person or thing”; “That in which one’s confidence is put; an object of trust”, “Confident expectation of something; hope”; “The condition of having confidence reposed in one, or of being entrusted with something”; “The obligation or responsibility imposed on one in whom confidence is placed or authority is vested, or who has given an undertaking of fidelity” (1.a., 1.c., 2., 5.a., 5.b.) . The qualities of confidence, reliability, hope, responsibility, and loyalty seem to be very important when trying to define Trust.

The first kind of Trust that I would like to examine is Family-Trust. Family-Trust develops between parent and child and siblings as soon as the child is born. For this kind of Trust, no decisions must be made and no actions need to be taken in order to achieve this level of Trust. Additionally, this kind of Trust does not develop over time like most types of Trust, but rather is formed instantaneously. When a child is born, he/she knows nothing and knows no one. The only thing the child has in the world is the family in front of him/her. This family is the first thing the child can understand, and he/she finds immediate comfort with his/her family. With no knowledge and no one else, the child has no choice but to trust his/her family and find confidence in hoping that they will not betray this trust. This family is all the child has as he/she enters the world, so the child has no choice but to put his/her complete faith in their hands. Family-Trust is, therefore, not a form of Trust that can be chosen or developed, but rather it is a birthright that every child is given and accepts without hesitation.

Just as I chose to begin my analysis of Trust with the category of Family-Trust, Lewis chose to start his analysis of Affection by discussing the love that exists between a parent and child. He says:

I begin with the humblest and most widely diffused of loves, the love in which our experience seems to differ least from that of the animals… The Greeks called this love storage… I shall here call it simply Affection. My Greek Lexicon defines storage as ‘affection, especially of parents to offspring’; but also of offspring to parents. And that, I have no doubt, is the original form of the thing as well as the central meaning of the word. (Lewis 53)

In Lewis’s definition of Affection as one of the four loves, he explains that the Affection between a parent in child not only the most natural form of Affection, but it is also the first form of Affection that exists in a person’s life. This claim is similar, if not identical, to my own explanation of the importance of the category of Family-Trust. The foundations of both Affection and Trust are instilled in a person from the moment they are born through the relationship they share with their parents and family. In this way, Lewis’s explanation of how Affection is first formed is also in line with my explanation of the origin of Family-Trust. Lewis states:

But Affection has its own criteria. Its objects have to be familiar. We can sometimes point to the very day and hour when we fell in love or began a new friendship. I doubt if we ever catch Affection beginning. (Lewis 55)

Here, Lewis explains a main difference between Affection and other types of relationships. His main point is that Affection is special in the sense that it is difficult, if not impossible, to acknowledge that the formation of Affection is taking place. This statement is line with my claim of Family-Trust as a birthright given to us without the need for a decision to be made. If Affection is, as Lewis states, originated through the love between a parent and child and instilled in us at birth, then it is created in a similar way and is needed and used in the same way as Family-Trust.

A second kind of Trust that is important to discuss is Peer-Trust. Peer-Trust is a type of Trust that has many sub-categories and, therefore, represents many different levels and qualities of Trust. Peer-Trust is a Trust that forms between two or more individuals who are considered to be equals. One example of Peer-Trust exists between members of a sports team, such as a soccer team. Through bonding and training, the soccer players learn to work together as a team in order to reach their common goal of being the champions of their soccer league. The players learn about each other’s strengths and weaknesses and help each other to become the best they can be. Because these teammates have a shared goal, they boost each other’s confidence in themselves and in one another. When it comes time for the team to step out onto the field and play their game, every player on the team is confident in each other’s ability. Additionally, a sense of loyalty to one another forms between the players. Each member of the team knows that during the game, the other players will be working as hard as they can and will be there to help if anyone is in need. The players work together in order to reach their goal, which leads to sense of confidence, loyalty, and, ultimately, Trust.

Peer-Trust also takes place between a boyfriend and girlfriend or any two or more people who would call themselves friends. Just as in the soccer team example, the people in these relationships develop a Trust with one another through confidence and loyalty. For a boyfriend and girlfriend, they become confident in each other and in their relationship, and pledge their loyalty to one another. Two friends can reach a similar confidence in each other and sense of loyalty, but there is a much different meaning behind the Trust formed between a boyfriend and girlfriend than between friends. A boyfriend and girlfriend are labeled in a way that explains to them and to the world exactly what level of friendship, loyalty, and trust they are on. For friendships, however, there are many different kinds of friends and no real way to label exactly what kind of friendship is taking place. One friend could hold a stronger amount of confidence and loyalty in the friendship than the other friend, and neither would ever truly be able to define the amount of trust that exists between them. With so many different kinds and different levels of friendship, it can be very difficult to try to define a category called Friendship-Trust. Therefore, Trust between friends, Trust between a boyfriend and girlfriend, and Trust between members of a sports team all fall under the Peer-Trust category. While the kinds of Trust that exist in these relationships are themselves very different from each other, the Trusts formed within these relationships are all the result of a feeling of confidence and loyalty being expressed.

From The Four Loves, it can be no surprise that I found a correlation between Lewis’s definition of Friendship and my own explanation of Peer-Trust. The first similarity that I found is when Lewis states, “Friendship arises out of mere Companionship when two or more of the companions discover that they have in common some insight or interest or even taste which the others do not share…” (Lewis 96). Looking back at my example of Peer-Trust through a soccer team, recall my belief that a similarity or a common goal stimulates the formation of Trust between two or more people. From Lewis’s quote, it is clear that he thinks Friendship is born in the same way. Following this statement, Lewis discusses the specific way in which such a commonality can create a strong bond of Friendship between two people. He explains:

It is when two such persons discover one another, when, whether with immense difficulties and semi-articulate fumblings or with what would seem to us amazing and elliptical speed, they share their vision- it is then that Friendship is born. And instantly they stand together in an immense solitude. (Lewis 97)

According to Lewis, it is through the discovery of a common interest between two people that a Friendship is not only born but, once the Friendship has been established, a strong bond is created between the two people that unites them strongly together. I found this to be in accordance with my explanation of the way Peer-Trust is both formed and in the way it bonds people together. For the soccer team, the players become united by their common interest in winning the championship, and therefore create strong bonds with each other, which leads to a powerful sense of Trust throughout the team. For a boyfriend and girlfriend, the fact that they feel strongly enough about each other to label themselves in terms of the other shows the Trust they share as well. For any two or more friends, at a certain point they may be able to feel connected to each other enough to create a strong bond between each other, which evidently leads to the establishment of a form of Trust. In each of these examples, people who consider themselves to be equal to one another discover a common interest, which eventually leads to a bond of Trust becoming established. Therefore, Lewis’s explanation of how Friendship is formed can also be used to explain the way in which Peer-Trust is established.

The last kind of trust that I would like to mention is Authority-Trust. Authority-Trust is the type of Trust that develops between someone who is considered to be an authority figure and someone who is unequal in authority. Such relationships include that of a teacher and a student, a doctor and a patient, or a sports coach and an athlete. In all of these relationships, one person seeks out the other for help and respects and appreciates what the other offers as advice. In this type of relationship, there is an uneven balance of power, as one individual holds some kind of authority or expertise over the other. This, however, is not considered to be a bad relationship in regards to trying to form Trust. It is said that with power comes respect and, in the case of establishing Trust, this statement holds true. Think of the relationship between a teacher and a student, for instance. The teacher obviously holds more power than the student, but the student does not view this inequality in power as a potentially damaging quality to their relationship. Rather, the student embraces this imbalance, and comes to respect the teacher because of the extra power and knowledge that the teacher is able to share with the student. The student benefits from the teacher’s stature, and comes to respect the teacher for the help and advice that is exchanged between them. Authority-Trust is based on this imbalance of power because it is what creates a feeling of respect within the relationship, and it is from this respect that Trust is born. However, not only does the student trust the teacher because of the respect he feels for his teacher due to his authoritative position, but this bond of Trust has also been created between them because of the teacher’s desire to share what he knows with the student and to aid him in his endeavors. Therefore, although in this type of relationship one person holds a higher rank of authority over the other, the only way for Authority-Trust to be completely formed is through the combination of the student’s respect for the teacher and the teacher’s desire for his student to succeed.

Looking back at Lewis’s The Four Loves once again, we can see that he makes a similar statement in regards to the student-teacher relationship when he says:

The Affection of patron for protégé… My own profession- that of a university teacher- is in this way… If we are any good we must always be working towards the moment at which our pupils are fit to become our critics and rivals. We should be delighted when it arrives, as the fencing master is delighted when his pupil can pink and disarm him. And many are. (Lewis 77)

Lewis uses the example of both a student-teacher relationship and the relationship between a sports coach and an athlete to aid in his explanation of Affection. Lewis uses these examples in order to express the way in which Affection causes a person in a position of authority to want to do everything he/she can in order to help those whom he/she teaches and advises to achieve success. Lewis’s examples show the strong bonds that are formed between an advisor and his/her advisee. I find his definition of this type of Affection to be related to that of Authority-Trust. It is from the respect that the fencing master feels for his pupil that Affection is formed between them, resulting in the fencing master’s desire for the pupil to one day succeed, even if it means the pupil will defeat him in the process. However, I believe that this Affection had to come about only after the fencing master and his pupil had established some kind of Trust with one another. Before the Affection could be formed, the pupil had to have enough respect for this particular fencing master and his knowledge on the subject in order to ask him for help. Additionally, the fencing master had to have had some reason to want to teach this particular pupil. In order for the pupil and the fencing master to establish this kind of relationship, they would need to have established some form of Trust as well. Only after the pupil shows his respect for the fencing master, and some kind of Trust is formed between them, can the fencing master come to develop respect for the pupil and, eventually, can Affection occur. Thus, based on Lewis’s definition of Affection between patron and protégé and my own definition of the category of Authority-Trust, it can be said that Affection can only be born after Trust has already been established.

When comparing the three categories of Trust to Lewis’s explanations of Affection and Friendship, there are certain reoccurring characteristics that aid in showing us the true commonalities that exist between the definitions of Trust, Affection, and Friendship. These characteristics appear to be confidence, loyalty, respect, hope, and faith. Most of these characteristics have already been addressed thoroughly and defined in relation to Trust in the examples above, but one that I have not looked at closely is the characteristic of faith. I found the best way to examine the relationship between these two terms was by thinking back to The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis. In his discussion about Friendship, Lewis drew some very interesting connections between God and the purpose Friendship. The idea of Trust being a way of putting your faith in someone seems similar to the concept of putting your faith in God. When you trust another person, you do not really know if they are completely trustworthy, or if they will abuse your trust. By giving someone your trust and putting your faith in them, it is almost as if you are placing a bet on them. You hope that you are not making the wrong decision by trusting them, but in the end there is really no way for you to know how they are going to use your trust and your faith in them. In a similar manner, people put their faith and their trust in God even though they are really not guaranteed that God will help them in any way. People put their faith in God and hope that by showing their loyalty and confidence in their decision that God will not ignore or take advantage of their faith.

In The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis, he states, “The Friendship… is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others… by Friendship God opens our eyes to them” (Lewis 126). Based on Lewis’s view, we could say that Trust, as well as Affection, are other instruments used by God to reveal to us the beauties of others and to open our eyes to them. On the other hand, it could be that this is only the job of Friendship, and Trust and Affection perform separate tasks. Trust appears to be the mechanism that is used so we can protect ourselves from opening up to and creating Friendships with and Affections for those who will do harm to us. We are instilled from birth with the concept of Trust as a way to shield ourselves from being too vulnerable and open. If we did not understand the concept of a trustworthy person compared to an untrustworthy person, people would easily be able to harm and use one another through the beauty in others revealed to us by God through Friendship and Affection.

So is it possible that the concept of Trust is given to us at birth as a kind of security system for our relationships and friendships with other people? It is because we understand who we can Trust and how much we can Trust them that we are able to distinguish who is truly our Friend and who is our foe, and who we can show Affection for and who to keep at an arm’s length. If we agree with Lewis’s beliefs about Friendship and Affection, then we can say that Friendship was created so we could see beauty in one another, Affection was created so we could show others that we see this beauty in them, and Trust was created so we do not only see this beauty and express it to others, but so we can also see who will embrace our loyalty and our faith and who will only abuse it and harm us if we are too open to them.

Works Cited

“trust, n.”. OED Online. March 2013. Oxford University Press. 26 April 2013.

Lewis, C.S. The Four Loves. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1960. Print.