Being Sympathetic to Bad-History Wrongdoers

Pacific Philosophical Quarterly (1):147-169 (2021)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

For many philosophers, bad-history wrongdoers are primarily interesting because of what their cases might tell us about the interaction of moral responsibility and history. However, philosophers focusing on blameworthiness have overlooked important questions about blame itself. These bad-history cases are complicated because blame and sympathy are both fitting. When we are careful to consider the rich natures of those two reactions, we see that they conflict in several important ways. We should see bad-history cases as cases about whether and how we should blame, rather than as cases giving us ready insight into the nature of moral responsibility.

Other Versions

No versions found

Similar books and articles

Respecting each other and taking responsibility for our biases.Elinor Mason - 2018 - In Marina Oshana, Katrina Hutchison & Catriona Mackenzie, Social Dimensions of Moral Responsibility. New York: Oup Usa.
Blaming Reasonable Wrongdoers.Matthew Talbert - 2024 - Res Publica 30 (3):529-545.
Our Statues of Wrongdoers.Craig K. Agule - forthcoming - Journal of Applied Philosophy.
Responsibility Without Wrongdoing or Blame.Julie Tannenbaum - 2018 - Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics 7:124-148.
Blaming the dead.Anneli Jefferson - 2024 - European Journal of Philosophy 32 (2):548-559.
How Not to Defend Moral Blame.Andreas Leonhard Menges - 2014 - Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy (1):1-7.
Moral ignorance and blameworthiness.Elinor Mason - 2015 - Philosophical Studies 172 (11):3037-3057.
Trauma and Compassionate Blame.Alycia W. LaGuardia-LoBianco - 2021 - Ergo: An Open Access Journal of Philosophy 7.

Analytics

Added to PP
2021-02-03

Downloads
1,104 (#21,172)

6 months
177 (#26,752)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Craig K. Agule
Rutgers University - Camden

Citations of this work

Our Statues of Wrongdoers.Craig K. Agule - forthcoming - Journal of Applied Philosophy.
Defending Elective Forgiveness.Craig Agule - 2023 - Ergo: An Open Access Journal of Philosophy 10.

Add more citations

References found in this work

Freedom and Resentment.Peter Strawson - 1963 - Proceedings of the British Academy 48:187-211.
Responsibility and Control: A Theory of Moral Responsibility.John Martin Fischer & Mark Ravizza - 1998 - New York: Cambridge University Press. Edited by Mark Ravizza.
Moral dimensions: permissibility, meaning, blame.Thomas Scanlon - 2008 - Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Utilitarianism.John Stuart Mill - 1861 - Cleveland: Oxford University Press UK. Edited by Roger Crisp.
An Essay on Free Will.Peter van Inwagen - 1983 - New York: Oxford University Press.

View all 60 references / Add more references