Oxford: Oxford University Press (2019)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
There are many actions that we attribute, at least colloquially, to states. Given their size and influence, states are able to inflict harm far beyond the reach of a single individual. But there is a great deal of unclarity about exactly who is implicated in that kind of harm, and how we should think about responsibility for it. It is a commonplace assumption that democratic publics both authorize and have control over what their states do; that their states act in their name and on their behalf. In Not In Their Name, Holly Lawford-Smith approaches these questions from the perspective of social ontology, asking whether the state is a collective agent, and whether ordinary citizens are members of that agent. If it is, and they are, there’s a clear case for democratic collective culpability. She explores alternative conceptions of the state and of membership in the state; alternative conceptions of collective agency applied to the state; the normative implications of membership in the state; and both culpability (from the inside) and responsibility (from the outside) for what the state does. Ultimately, Lawford-Smith argues for the exculpation of ordinary citizens and the inculpation of those working in public services.
|
Keywords | Social ontology Collective agency States Collective responsibility |
Categories |
No categories specified (categorize this paper) |
Reprint years | 2019 |
Buy this book | $32.65 used (27% off) $35.33 new (21% off) $44.95 from Amazon Amazon page |
ISBN(s) | 9780198833666 0198833660 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
No references found.
Citations of this work BETA
Group Agents and Moral Status: What Can We Owe to Organizations?Adam Lovett & Stefan Riedener - 2021 - Canadian Journal of Philosophy 51 (3):221–238.
Environmental Activism and the Fairness of Costs Argument for Uncivil Disobedience.Ten-Herng Lai & Chong-Ming Lim - forthcoming - Journal of the American Philosophical Association.
XIV—What’s Wrong with Collective Punishment?Holly Lawford-Smith - 2018 - Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 118 (3):327-345.
Responsibility and the ‘Pie Fallacy’.Alex Kaiserman - 2021 - Philosophical Studies 178 (11):3597-3616.
View all 6 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Responsibility for States' Actions: Normative Issues at the Intersection of Collective Agency and State Responsibility.Holly Lawford-Smith & Stephanie Collins - 2017 - Philosophy Compass 12 (11):e12456.
How Should Citizens’ Collective Liability for State Action Be Grounded?Robert Huseby - 2017 - Journal of Global Ethics 13 (3):366-379.
The Transfer of Duties: From Individuals to States and Back Again.Stephanie Collins & Holly Lawford-Smith - 2016 - In Michael Brady & Miranda Fricker (eds.), The Epistemic Life of Groups. Oxford University Press. pp. 150-172.
Political Authority, Practical Identity, and Binding Citizens.Carl Fox - 2015 - International Journal of Philosophical Studies 23 (2):168-186.
Non-Tracing Cases of Culpable Ignorance.Holly M. Smith - 2011 - Criminal Law and Philosophy 5 (2):115-146.
Circumstantial Ignorance and Mitigated Blameworthiness.Daniel J. Miller - 2018 - Philosophical Explorations 22 (1):33-43.
Culpability and Ignorance.Gideon Rosen - 2003 - Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 103 (1):61-84.
Two Failed Accounts of Citizen Responsibility for State Action: On Stilz and Pasternak.Uwe Steinhoff - manuscript
Citizen Responsibility for War in Imperfect Democracies.Lisa Rivera - 2009 - Dialogue 48 (4):813-840.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2019-03-18
Total views
32 ( #356,530 of 2,506,349 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
2 ( #277,420 of 2,506,349 )
2019-03-18
Total views
32 ( #356,530 of 2,506,349 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
2 ( #277,420 of 2,506,349 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads