It does, indeed, matter to many of us...those who accept responsibility for their words and actions; those who have greater respect for others than they may have for themselves; those who believe it important to persevere in the face of trends, fads and mass/popular culture. I finished reading Stephen Hawking's (I assume final) book: Brief Answers to the Big Questions, and was moved by the humanity of the man. It is a small book. But it captures the essence of a great human being, as well as anything I have read in many years. Not a bad blueprint for anyone wishing to build upon his/her own reputation.

I have a very different take on reputation. I have many reputations, as a musician, as a political activist, as a writer, etc. For each reputation, there is a group of people whose opinions matter to me and a much larger group about whose opinions I don't care at all. One way to view the latter is that insults from an idiot are really compliments. That view does not seem to fit much of your discussion.

I happened upon a quotation which I liked for its obscurity. Then I noticed its relevance to this post, so I thought I'd share:

"The totality of circumstances may decide whether a thing is better-viewed in the cool, dim shadow of abstraction, or in the warm, bright light of reality."

(Hope someone likes it, either because of or in spite of its' obliqueness.)

Looked back at remarks made in 2018. My comment oh totality of circumstances was just in fun. Reputation is only meaningful to those who have---WANT to have, personal integrity. Someone might argue that even criminals have their own brand of integrity. Maybe so. But, for lawabiding citizens, this does not hold any meaning. We are not much interested in doing business with dishonest people. Nor do we condone such character flaws in those with whom we share personal relationships. This is pretty basic stuff. So,I leave it there.

Learned some things from Davidson. Propositional attitudes were right in front of our eyes. Such attitudes are social constructs. Desire, belief, expectation---the list is long. We want, believe and expect, in concert with what we are taught to want, believe and expect. It is all of a piece with socialization. Because that is needed in order for us to coordinate and cooperate---go along to get along, and so on. Mountain men are virtually extinct. Their self-reliance became obsolete. In some regions of the world, independent people survive. Not many. They are stronger than the rest of us. Diamond has told this tale. Societies have emerged, their morphology changing gradually. Could humans go back if they had to? It seems unlikely, given pandemic realities. We should, however, never say never.. That adaptivity thing, you see. We are still tougher than we remember. This is why we are still here.

Got off on a tangent, last comment. Sorry about that. Reputation may mean the difference between success and failure. Most of us will not buy a car from a seller whose reputation is GRAS (generally recognized as shady). Such dealers raise our antennae. This analogy is one of many which apply to the question. Best I could do to keep this short.

结束语:如果声誉无关紧要，那么伦理道德之类的词就毫无意义。如果这是正确的，我们的世界观也是如此。你可以吃蛋糕。但只有当你拥有它的时候。真理也受到质疑。这是常事。情况的总和决定一切。我对真理有自己的解释。

If anyone truly imagines that reputation does not matter, observe the mayhem that transpires today via social media. Should THIS not matter to you, give your libido free-reign ( or is that rein?), and participate to heart's content. People will write books about this stuff. The fact that reputation does not matter to many is a reflection of the erosion of privacy. Seems to me.