The Journal of Ethics 16 (1):89-109 (2012)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
I argue that wrongdoers may be open to moral blame even if they lacked the capacity to respond to the moral considerations that counted against their behavior. My initial argument turns on the suggestion that even an agent who cannot respond to specific moral considerations may still guide her behavior by her judgments about reasons. I argue that this explanation of a wrongdoer’s behavior can qualify her for blame even if her capacity for moral understanding is impaired. A second argument is based on the observation that even when a blameworthy wrongdoer could have responded to moral considerations, this is often not relevant to her blameworthiness. Finally, I argue against the view that because blame communicates moral demands, only agents who can be reached by such communication are properly blamed. I contend that a person victimized by a wrongdoer with an impaired capacity for moral understanding may protest her victimization in a way that counts as a form of moral blame even though it does not primarily express a moral demand or attempt to initiate moral dialogue
|
Keywords | Moral Competence Blame Protest Compatibilism Moral Demands |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1007/s10892-011-9112-4 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
Responsibility and Control: A Theory of Moral Responsibility.John Martin Fischer & Mark Ravizza - 1998 - Cambridge University Press.
Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility.Harry Frankfurt - 1969 - Journal of Philosophy 66 (23):829.
View all 47 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Difficulty and Degrees of Moral Praiseworthiness and Blameworthiness.Dana Kay Nelkin - 2016 - Noûs 50 (2):356-378.
Moral Blame and Moral Protest.Angela Smith - 2013 - In D. Justin Coates & Neal A. Tognazzini (eds.), Blame: Its Nature and Norms. Oxford University Press.
Scaffolding Agency: A Proleptic Account of the Reactive Attitudes.Victoria McGeer - 2019 - European Journal of Philosophy 27 (2):301-323.
View all 50 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Blame and Responsiveness to Moral Reasons: Are Psychopaths Blameworthy?Matthew Talbert - 2008 - Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 89 (4):516-535.
Accountability, Aliens, and Psychopaths: A Reply to Shoemaker.Matthew Talbert - 2012 - Ethics 122 (3):562-574.
The Nature and Ethics of Blame.D. Justin Coates & Neal A. Tognazzini - 2012 - Philosophy Compass 7 (3):197-207.
A Sketch of a Theory of Moral Blameworthiness.Peter A. Graham - 2014 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 88 (2):388-409.
Blame: Taking It Seriously.Michelle Mason - 2011 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 83 (2):473-481.
Epistemological Contextualism and the Problem of Moral Luck.Berit Brogaard - 2003 - Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 84 (4):351–370.
The Force and Fairness of Blame.Pamela Hieronymi - 2004 - Philosophical Perspectives 18 (1):115–148.
Implanted Desires, Self-Formation and Blame.Matthew Talbert - 2009 - Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy 3 (2):1-18.
Moral Dilemmas, Collective Responsibility, and Moral Progress.Patricia Marino - 2001 - Philosophical Studies 104 (2):203 - 225.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2011-10-18
Total views
269 ( #39,394 of 2,498,294 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
12 ( #63,035 of 2,498,294 )
2011-10-18
Total views
269 ( #39,394 of 2,498,294 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
12 ( #63,035 of 2,498,294 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads