A puzzle about excuses

Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy (forthcoming)
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Abstract

An excuse is an event or condition that exonerates an agent for a wrongdoing. An excuse may be an event or condition that interferes with the exercises of a person’s rational capacities, thereby preventing them from doing the right thing. I argue that a person who fails to do the right thing always has an excuse for their failure. This puzzle has troubling consequences, for it means that we are never to blame for our wrongdoings.

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10.1080/0020174x.2023.2217236

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Martin Montminy
University of Oklahoma

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Responsibility for believing.Pamela Hieronymi - 2008 - Synthese 161 (3):357-373.
Masked Abilities and Compatibilism.M. Fara - 2008 - Mind 117 (468):843-865.
Acting for the right reasons.Julia Markovits - 2010 - Philosophical Review 119 (2):201-242.
Causing and Nothingness.Helen Beebee - 2004 - In L. A. Paul, E. J. Hall & J. Collins (eds.), Causation and Counterfactuals. Cambridge, MA, USA: MIT Press. pp. 291--308.

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