Da li sam moralno odgovorna za maltretiranje psa na pustom ostrvu? Moralna odgovornost i društvena zajednica
Am I Morally Responsible for Abuse of a Dog on a Desert Island? Moral Responsibility and Social Community

Author(s): Marina Budić
Subject(s): Ethics / Practical Philosophy
Published by: Институт друштвених наука
Keywords: moral responsibility; reactive attitudes; Peter Strawson; social community
Summary/Abstract: The paper deals with the notion of moral responsibility. The subject of this paper is Strawson’s conception of moral responsibility, with particular reference to the question of the intersubjective nature of this responsibility. The aim is to determine whether moral responsibility, according to Strawson’s view, is intrinsically intersubjective in character, to answer the question whether it is possible to be morally responsible in the absence of a social community. The basic hypothesis of the research is that in Strawson’s conception of moral responsibility this responsibility is intrinsically intersubjective. This means that it is not possible to talk about moral responsibility in the absence of a moral community. The subject of this paper is also a critical consideration of criticisms addressed to Strawson’s understanding. I have tried to provide a plausible solution to these problems and point out significant conceptual distinction. I have considered the meaning of the question whether moral responsibility is essentially interpersonal. First, it is necessary to establish the meaning of the terms moral responsibility and moral community, as well as the term interpersonal (intersubjective), to figure out if the dispute about the different responses to the question (whether it is possible to be morally responsible in the absence of a social community) is substantial, or it appears because of the different interpretations of the meaning of those terms. Numerous misunderstandings regarding the answers to the exact questions arise precisely because of the difference in the meaning and interpretation of these terms. The value of the work is reflected in the exploration and explication of the concept of moral responsibility and its aspects, as well as in understanding the relationship between moral responsibility and moral community within Strawson’s point of view. The importance of examining moral responsibility is reflected in society nowadays. The issue of moral responsibility is very important for a person as an individual, i.e. a self-conscious, cultivated, moral being, as well as in general, for the moral or social community in which he or she lives. This problem is represented and researched in various fields of philosophy (ethics, normative and metaethics, applied ethics, political philosophy, metaphysics), as well as in legal studies, psychology, cognitive science. Interdisciplinarity in studying the term demonstrates its importance in different spheres of human life, which also means that it could be considered in the context of a number of different aspects. However, this notion is of utmost importance in ethics. In the first part of the paper, I consider the notion of moral responsibility as susceptibility to reactive attitudes. This is the conception developed by Peter Strawson. One of its implications, which I focus on in the paper, can be expressed as follows: There can be no moral responsibility without a moral community. The slogan captures the spirit of the popular approach to moral responsibility, according to which such responsibility is intrinsically interpersonal, namely, it cannot exist without a moral community. The paper deals with the problems of this position and points out possible solutions.

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