Universität Wien

180054 SE Collective Responsibility (2024S)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie
Continuous assessment of course work
Moodle
Th 23.05. 15:00-16:30 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.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 14.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 21.03. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 11.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 18.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 25.04. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 02.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 16.05. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 06.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 13.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 20.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 27.06. 15:00 - 16:30 Hörsaal. 2H NIG 2.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.

The seminar will involve weekly meetings where students discuss the reading assigned for that week.

Assessment and permitted materials

Assignments:
- Reading questions (mandatory but not graded)
- Reflection (20%)
- A detailed outline of the essay you plan to write (20%).
- Essay (60%)

The usage of Chat-GPT or similar AI programs/models is not allowed for writing any of the assignments.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Your essay will be graded according to the following criteria:
- Knowledge/understanding of primary literature
- Quality and motivation of hypothesis
- Structure of essay
- Quality of argumentation
- Support/Use of Secondary Literature
- Quality of introduction
- Quality of conclusion

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

Students must complete each assignment at a satisfactory level in order to pass the course.
Students are expected to be present at 80% of the meetings and hand in reading questions for 80% of the meetings.

By signing up for this class, the student consents to having all their writing assignments checked by the plagiarism-software Turnetin on Moodle.

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: Mo 04.03.2024 11:26