
Moral Responsibility and the Problem of Many Hands
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 14. August 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
226 pages
978-1-138-34671-0 (ISBN)
Description
When many people are involved in an activity, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to pinpoint who is morally responsible for what, a phenomenon known as the 'problem of many hands.' This term is increasingly used to describe problems with attributing individual responsibility in collective settings in such diverse areas as public administration, corporate management, law and regulation, technological development and innovation, healthcare, and finance. This volume provides an in-depth philosophical analysis of this problem, examining the notion of moral responsibility and distinguishing between different normative meanings of responsibility, both backward-looking (accountability, blameworthiness, and liability) and forward-looking (obligation, virtue). Drawing on the relevant philosophical literature, the authors develop a coherent conceptualization of the problem of many hands, taking into account the relationship, and possible tension, between individual and collective responsibility. This systematic inquiry into the problem of many hands pertains to discussions about moral responsibility in a variety of applied settings.
Reviews / Votes
"This book will be of use in its entirety to those who are concerned with practical issues of responsibility distribution in institutions, particularly institutions of a fairly technical nature." - Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"Ibo van de Poel, Lamber Royakkers, and Sjoerd D. Zwart have assembled the most comprehensive treatment yet of the problem of many hands, which has confounded assessments of individual responsibility in contexts of joint action and diffuse causality. Not only do they cogently capture the nature of this problem, both descriptively and formally, but they offer three compelling solutions to it, which should be of political as well as philosophical interest." - Steven Vanderheiden, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
4 s/w Zeichnungen, 15 s/w Tabellen
15 Tables, black and white; 4 Line drawings, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
354 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-138-34671-0 (9781138346710)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Ibo van de Poel | Lamber Royakkers | Sjoerd D. Zwart
Moral Responsibility and the Problem of Many Hands
Book
03/2015
1st Edition
Routledge
€231.70
Shipment within 10-20 days

Ibo van de Poel | Lamber Royakkers | Sjoerd D. Zwart
Moral Responsibility and the Problem of Many Hands
E-Book
03/2015
Routledge
€65.99
Available for download

Ibo van de Poel | Lamber Royakkers | Sjoerd D. Zwart
Moral Responsibility and the Problem of Many Hands
E-Book
03/2015
Routledge
€65.99
Available for download
Persons
Ibo van de Poel is Anthoni van Leeuwenhoek Professor in Ethics and Technology at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Lamber Royakkers is Associate Professor in Ethics and Technology in the School of Innovation Sciences at Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Sjoerd D. Zwart is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Technology at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Lamber Royakkers is Associate Professor in Ethics and Technology in the School of Innovation Sciences at Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Sjoerd D. Zwart is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Technology at Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Author
Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Universities of Technology in Delft and Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Content
Introduction Ibo van de Poel and Lamber Royakkers 1. Moral Responsibility Ibo van de Poel 2. The Problem of Many Hands Ibo van de Poel 3: A Formalisation of Moral Responsibility and the Problem of Many Hands Tiago de Lima and Lamber Royakkers 4. Responsibility and the Problem of Many Hands in Networks Sjoerd D. Zwart 5. A Procedural Approach to Distributing Responsibility Neelke Doorn 6. Responsibility as a Virtue and the Problem of Many Hands Jessica Nihlen Fahlquist Conclusions: From Understanding to Avoiding the Problem of Many Hands Ibo van de Poel and Sjoerd D. Zwart