Universität Wien

180050 SE Collective Responsibility (2025S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie
Continuous assessment of course work

Hinweis der SPL Philosophie:

Das Abgeben von ganz oder teilweise von einem KI-tool (z.B. ChatGPT) verfassten Texten als Leistungsnachweis (z.B. Seminararbeit) ist nur dann erlaubt, wenn dies von der Lehrveranstaltungsleitung ausdrücklich als mögliche Arbeitsweise genehmigt wurde. Auch hierbei müssen direkt oder indirekt zitierte Textstellen wie immer klar mit Quellenangabe ausgewiesen werden.

Die Lehrveranstaltungsleitung kann zur Überprüfung der Autorenschaft einer abgegebenen schriftlichen Arbeit ein notenrelevantes Gespräch (Plausibilitätsprüfung) vorsehen, das erfolgreich zu absolvieren ist.
Moodle
Th 26.06. 15:00-16:30 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Thursday 13.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Thursday 20.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Thursday 27.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Thursday 03.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Thursday 10.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Thursday 08.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Thursday 15.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Tuesday 20.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 3D, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. III/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Thursday 05.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock
  • Thursday 12.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal 3F NIG 3.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

In this course, we will delve deep into the contemporary debate in analytic philosophy on collective responsibility. In our everyday talk we commonly hold groups responsible: Humanity is responsible for climate change, a riot mob is responsible for wreaking havoc in the city center, or a corporation is responsible for evading taxes. These responsibility attributions to various groups are an important part of our responsibility practices, but the exact nature of collective responsibility raises several questions.

We will look at possible answers to questions of the following kind:
- What exactly is collective responsibility? Are there different collective variants of responsibility? Is it moral, legal, causal, or outcome responsibility? Is there a forward-looking variant (i.e., collective duties)?
- What kind of groups, if any, can be collectively responsible in their own right? For example, can we blame Shell as such?
- What does it exactly mean for a group to be responsible? And what does this (potentially) imply for members of that group?
- Is it fair or coherent to hold individuals responsible for the actions of others?
- How does collective responsibility relate to other notions such as (group) agency, obligations, actions, control, knowledge, etc.?

By the end of this course, the students is expected to be able to (1) explain various conceptions of collective responsibility and the difference between individualism and collectivism; and (2) explain the relevance of notions such as group agency, obligations, control, knowledge for collective responsibility.

Assessment and permitted materials

Assessment:
Final Paper: 60%
Outline for final paper: 20%
Reflection: 20%
Active Participation/Reading questions: No grade, but mandatory.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria


On each assignment, students will receive points. The grades are distributed as follows:
1: 87-100 points
2: 75-86 points
3: 63-74 points
4: 50-62 points
5: 0-49 points

Examination topics

The assignments must concern (some of) the primary literature read in class.

Reading list

Preliminary reading list (this might still change!):

Week 2: Collectivism

Peter French (1979) - The Corporation as a Moral Person (pp. 207-215)
Margaret Gilbert (2006) - Who’s to Blame? Collective Moral Responsibility and Its Implications for Group Members (pp. 94-114)

Week 3: Individualism

Ish Haji (2006) - On the Ultimate Responsibility of Collectives (pp. 292-307)
Michael McKenna (2006) – Collective Responsibility and an Agent Meaning Theory (16-34)

Week 4: Corporate Responsibility

Philip Pettit (2007) - Responsibility Incorporated (pp. 171-201)

Week 5: Corporate Emotions

Gunnar Björnsson & Kendy Hess (2017) - Corporate Crocodile Tears? On the Reactive Attitudes of Corporate Agents (pp. 273-298)

Week 6: Group Motivation

Jessica Brown (2022) – Group Motivation (pp. 494-510)

Week 7: Collective Responsibility and Non-Agential Groups

Virginia Held (1970) - Can a Random Collection of Individuals Be Morally Responsible? (pp. 471-481)
Sarah Rachel Chant (2015) - Collective Responsibility in a Hollywood Standoff (pp. 83-92)

Week 8: Shared Responsibility

Michael Zimmerman (1985) - Sharing Responsibility (pp. 115-122)
Larry May (1990) - Collective Inaction and Shared Responsibility (pp. 269-277)

Week 9: The Public and the State

Anna Stilz (2011) – Collective Responsibility and the State (pp. 190-208)
Avia Pasternak (2013) – The Collective Responsibility of Democratic Publics (pp. 99-123)

Week 10: Structural Injustice and Forward-Looking Collective Responsibility

Iris Marion Young (2006) – Responsibility and Global Justice: A Social Connection Model (pp. 102-130)

Week 11: Collective Duty Gaps

Stephanie Collins (2017) – Filling Collective Duty Gaps (pp. 573-591)

Week 12: The Nature of Collective Duties

Anne Schwenkenbecher (2018) – Making Sense of Collective Moral Obligations

Association in the course directory

Last modified: We 12.03.2025 10:26