When can we be morally responsible for our behavior? Is it fair to blame people for actions that are determined by heredity and environment? Can we be responsible for the actions of relatives or members of our community? In this provocative book, Tamler Sommers concludes that there are no objectively correct answers to these questions. Drawing on research in anthropology, psychology, and a host of other disciplines, Sommers argues that cross-cultural variation raises serious problems for theories that propose universally applicable conditions for moral responsibility. He then develops a new way of thinking about responsibility that takes cultural diversity into account. Relative Justice is a novel and accessible contribution to the ancient debate over free will and moral responsibility. Sommers provides a thorough examination of the methodology employed by contemporary philosophers in the debate and a challenge to Western assumptions about individual autonomy and its connection to moral desert.
- ISBN13 9781400840250
- Publish Date 19 December 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Princeton University Press
- Format eBook
- Pages 248
- Language English
- URL http://degruyter.com/search?f_0=isbnissn&q_0=9781400840250&searchTitles=true