A1 Journal article (refereed)
The Problem of the First Belief : Group Agents and Responsibility (2020)
Hirvonen, O. (2020). The Problem of the First Belief : Group Agents and Responsibility. Journal of Social Ontology, 6(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1515/jso-2019-0029
JYU authors or editors
Publication details
All authors or editors: Hirvonen, Onni
Journal or series: Journal of Social Ontology
ISSN: 2196-9655
eISSN: 2196-9663
Publication year: 2020
Publication date: 27/08/2020
Volume: 6
Issue number: 1
Pages range: 1-20
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Publication country: Germany
Publication language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jso-2019-0029
Publication open access: Openly available
Publication channel open access: Open Access channel
Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/71589
Abstract
Attributing moral responsibility to an agent requires that the agent is a capable member of a moral community. Capable members of a moral community are often thought of as moral reasoners (or moral persons) and, thus, to attribute moral responsibility to collective agents would require showing that they are capable of moral reasoning. It is argued here that those theories that understand collective reasoning and collective moral agency in terms of collective decision-making and commitment – as is arguably the case with Christian List and Philip Pettit’s theory of group agency – face the so-called “problem of the first belief” that threatens to make moral reasoning impossible for group agents. This paper introduces three possible solutions to the problem and discusses the effects that these solutions have in regard to the possibility of attributing moral responsibility to groups.
Keywords: communities (organisations); groups; persons; beliefs; liability; human agency; morals; ethics; ontology (philosophy)
Free keywords: Christian List; collective beliefs; collective responsibility; group agency; moral personhood; Philip Pettit; philosophy; social ontology
Contributing organizations
Ministry reporting: Yes
Reporting Year: 2020
JUFO rating: 1
