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Title: Normative Powers and Responsibility Practices
Abstract: There has been much recent discussion of whether and, if so when, people possess standing to respond to wrongdoing in various ways, notably by blaming and forgiving. Theorists disagree about a number of claims, including how best to understand the nature of standing, under what conditions it is undermined, whether it applies to the mere possession of certain attitudes, and more. In this paper, I identify a number of extant arguments and conclusions that I think are correct, but have not been put together in a single package. When they are, I believe they provide mutual support and illumination. In particular, I endorse a picture that incorporates a conception of standing as a normative power modeled after the notion of standing in the law, supports the existence of a central kind of forgiveness as a kind of debt release, offers a plausible account of the relationship between blaming and holding accountable, explains why blame seems to come in degrees where forgiveness of an important sort does not, and explains an asymmetry in debates about hypocrisy and “meddling”. I conclude by exploring implications for debates about self-blame and the standing of the state.
As usual, we'll meet in the Maloney Seminar Room, Social Science Building 224, 3-5p.
Michael McKenna will be the host for this week's festivities. Please contact him with any questions. Dana's talk is part of a workshop Michael has organized with the support of the Freedom Center. The workshop will run through the day on Saturday. It's an incredible lineup: Dana Nelkin (UCSD), Derk Pereboom (Cornell), Jason Turner (Arizona), Mark Balaguer (Cal State LA), Carolina Sartorio (Rutgers). More information is available here.