Responsibility, Praise, and Blame

(7.5 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Ordinarily, we blame people for doing wrong and praise them for doing the right thing. What is it to blame someone or praise them? And under what conditions is someone worthy of blame or praise for their actions or attitudes? This module aims to look at the nature of blame and what is to be blameworthy, as well as how one ought to act under conditions of ignorance or uncertainty. It seems that factual ignorance sometimes excuses wrong-doing. For instance one might break a promise to pick up a friend from the airport and yet be blameless, say because one's friend misinformed one about which airport she is arriving at. But can one also be excused for wrong-doing because of ignorance of what the true morality says (e.g. consider an ancient Greek slaveholder) How should one act when one is not sure what is the correct morality?