Blame. What is it good for?
keywords:
morality / blame / motivation / warrant / conflict
Blame. What is it good for?
Is blame for retribution and revenge? Or is blame for managing others’ behavior? I argue that while the former answer is dominant in social psychology, it predicts a dysfunctional system of blame that explains only a small portion of why people blame. Instead, I suggest that blame is better understood as a tool for changing the way people behave. / more
Free will without metaphysics
keywords:
free will / folk concepts / morality / choice / blame
Free will without metaphysics
Despite the resurgence of interest in free will, there remains confusion and disagreement regarding free will’s role in social life, in particular, how people understand free will and whether free will guides blame and praise for others. In this blog post I argue that we need to pay closer attention to the folk concept of free will in order to resolve the confusion surrounding free will in everyday life. / more