Obligation and Responsibility

According to Ishtiyaque Haji, moral obligation and responsibility are more similar than many believe. He challenges the view that responsibility does not require freedom to do otherwise and rejects the parallel thesis of obligation semicompatibilism. Determinism threatens both obligation and responsibility by eliminating alternate possibilities, and Haji rejects the immutability thesis about blameworthiness. He does find one legitimate difference between obligation and responsibility: while how one acquires one's values may significantly influence whether one is responsible for their conduct, obligation is not historical in this way.

Format: Hardback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 04 April 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Many philosophers have sought to distinguish moral obligation from moral responsibility. In this book, author Ishtiyaque Haji argues that these concepts, though still distinct, are more similar than many think.

First, conceptual ties between obligation and responsibility speak largely in favor of responsibility's requiring alternatives, challenging the view that responsibility does not require freedom to do otherwise. Second, many philosophers champion responsibility semi-compatibilism, which means that even if determinism is incompatible with the freedom to do otherwise, it is compatible with responsibility. Essential relations between obligation and responsibility are deployed against this thesis, and the parallel thesis of obligation semi-compatibilism is also rejected. An upshot of forsaking these two species of semi-compatibilism is that determinism threatens both obligation and responsibility by eliminating alternate possibilities.

Third, many concur that whereas you may now no longer have an obligation that you previously had, you cannot now fail to be blameworthy for something for which you were formerly to blame. Haji rejects this immutability thesis about blameworthiness. Haji does find one legitimate difference between obligation and responsibility: while how one acquires one's values may significantly influence whether one is responsible for much of their conduct, obligation is not historical in this way.

In conclusion, Haji's book offers a valuable contribution to the debate between moral obligation and moral responsibility. By challenging the traditional view that these concepts are distinct and by proposing that they are more similar than many think, Haji provides a fresh perspective on this important topic. His arguments are well-argued and supported by evidence, and his book is a must-read for anyone interested in philosophy of ethics.

Dimension: 210 x 140 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197657829