On Sanctioning Excuses
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-2-1969
ISSN
1939-8549
Publisher
The Journal of Philosophy, Inc
Language
en-US
Abstract
We try to modulate our blame of someone for a bad thing done when it seems that his behavior or its effects were not, in some significant respect, under his control. We try to adjust our moral reactions to his responsibility for what he did. We deal with children, mental defectives, and psychotics differently from ordinary adults. We allow for consideration under such headings as Mistake, Accident, Provocation, and Coercion. And we think that justice requires mitigation, that it would be unfair to blame or make a person suffer for something he "could not help" doing.
Recommended Citation
David B. Lyons,
On Sanctioning Excuses
,
in
66
Journal of Philosophy
646
(1969).
Available at:
https://doi.org/10.2307/2024181
