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Responsibility and Manipulation

Cogley, Charles Zachary
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275370229

Abstract Details

2010, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Philosophy.
In my dissertation, I defend compatibilism against the problem presented by manipulated agents. I argue that compatibilists about moral responsibility and determinism should claim that people whose attitudes are manipulated by outside interveners are nonetheless fully morally responsible for what they do, so long as such people satisfy compatibilist conditions on being morally responsible. To show this, I demonstrate that our practice of holding each other morally responsible has two distinct components, one emotional, the other non-emotional. The emotional component consists of a class of reactive emotions that are made appropriate by the actions and attitudes of other people. The non-emotional component concerns the way our trust of others is properly impacted by their actions and attitudes. I develop a full account of both the emotional and non-emotional components of holding each other morally responsible, and I also go on to characterize the circumstances under which our emotional and non-emotional attitudes towards others and their actions are appropriately modified. I then apply this framework to cases of manipulated people and show that when the people in question satisfy compatibilist accounts of free agency, their manipulation should not impact our willingness to hold them responsible. Finally, I show that, within certain limits, people who commit crimes because they have been manipulated in this way may be permissibly punished. The ultimate payoff is threefold: a more nuanced understanding of the situations in which people are legitimately held morally responsible for what they do, the development of a compatibilist account of moral responsibility that is immune to many of the canonical objections, and a novel theory of punishment.
Daniel Farrell (Committee Chair)
Justin D'Arms (Committee Member)
Don Hubin (Committee Member)
156 p.
Philosophy
moral responsibility; emotions; trust; distrust; anger; punishment; reactive attitudes; Pereboom; determinism; compatibilism; incompatibilism;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Cogley, C. Z. (2010). Responsibility and Manipulation [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275370229

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Cogley, Charles. Responsibility and Manipulation. 2010. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275370229.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Cogley, Charles. "Responsibility and Manipulation." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275370229

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1275370229
574
© 2010, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.