Against Moral Responsibility

Against Moral Responsibility
Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
Total Pages : 365
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780262553810
ISBN-13 : 0262553813
Rating : 4/5 (10 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Against Moral Responsibility by : Bruce N. Waller

Download or read book Against Moral Responsibility written by Bruce N. Waller and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2024-12-10 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A vigorous attack on moral responsibility in all its forms argues that the abolition of moral responsibility will be liberating and beneficial. In Against Moral Responsibility, Bruce Waller launches a spirited attack on a system that is profoundly entrenched in our society and its institutions, deeply rooted in our emotions, and vigorously defended by philosophers from ancient times to the present. Waller argues that, despite the creative defenses of it by contemporary thinkers, moral responsibility cannot survive in our naturalistic-scientific system. The scientific understanding of human behavior and the causes that shape human character, he contends, leaves no room for moral responsibility. Waller argues that moral responsibility in all its forms—including criminal justice, distributive justice, and all claims of just deserts—is fundamentally unfair and harmful and that its abolition will be liberating and beneficial. What we really want—natural human free will, moral judgments, meaningful human relationships, creative abilities—would survive and flourish without moral responsibility. In the course of his argument, Waller examines the origins of the basic belief in moral responsibility, proposes a naturalistic understanding of free will, offers a detailed argument against moral responsibility and critiques arguments in favor of it, gives a general account of what a world without moral responsibility would look like, and examines the social and psychological aspects of abolishing moral responsibility. Waller not only mounts a vigorous, and philosophically rigorous, attack on the moral responsibility system, but also celebrates the benefits that would result from its total abolition.


Against Moral Responsibility Related Books

Against Moral Responsibility
Language: en
Pages: 365
Authors: Bruce N. Waller
Categories: Philosophy
Type: BOOK - Published: 2024-12-10 - Publisher: MIT Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A vigorous attack on moral responsibility in all its forms argues that the abolition of moral responsibility will be liberating and beneficial. In Against Moral
Moral Responsibility and Desert of Praise and Blame
Language: en
Pages: 216
Authors: Audrey L. Anton
Categories: Philosophy
Type: BOOK - Published: 2015-12-24 - Publisher: Lexington Books

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book challenges a basic assumption held by many responsibility theorists: that agents must be morally responsible in the retrospective sense for anything i
Just Deserts
Language: en
Pages: 145
Authors: Daniel C. Dennett
Categories: Philosophy
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-01-14 - Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The concept of free will is profoundly important to our self-understanding, our interpersonal relationships, and our moral and legal practices. If it turns out
Building Better Beings
Language: en
Pages: 356
Authors: Manuel Vargas
Categories: Law
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013 - Publisher: Oxford University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Manuel Vargas presents a compelling and state-of-the-art defense of moral responsibility in the face of growing philosophical and scientific skepticism about fr
Rejecting Retributivism
Language: en
Pages: 401
Authors: Gregg D. Caruso
Categories: Law
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-04-29 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Caruso argues against retributivism and develops an alternative for addressing criminal behavior that is ethically defensible and practical.