The Limits of Blame

The Limits of Blame
Author: Erin I. Kelly
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2018-11-12
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0674980778

Faith in the power and righteousness of retribution has taken over the American criminal justice system. Approaching punishment and responsibility from a philosophical perspective, Erin Kelly challenges the moralism behind harsh treatment of criminal offenders and calls into question our society’s commitment to mass incarceration. The Limits of Blame takes issue with a criminal justice system that aligns legal criteria of guilt with moral criteria of blameworthiness. Many incarcerated people do not meet the criteria of blameworthiness, even when they are guilty of crimes. Kelly underscores the problems of exaggerating what criminal guilt indicates, particularly when it is tied to the illusion that we know how long and in what ways criminals should suffer. Our practice of assigning blame has gone beyond a pragmatic need for protection and a moral need to repudiate harmful acts publicly. It represents a desire for retribution that normalizes excessive punishment. Appreciating the limits of moral blame critically undermines a commonplace rationale for long and brutal punishment practices. Kelly proposes that we abandon our culture of blame and aim at reducing serious crime rather than imposing retribution. Were we to refocus our perspective to fit the relevant moral circumstances and legal criteria, we could endorse a humane, appropriately limited, and more productive approach to criminal justice.

The Myth of Choice

The Myth of Choice
Author: Kent Greenfield
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2011-09-15
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0300178875

Freedom of choice is at the core of the American story. But what if choice is fake?Americans are fixated on the idea of choice. Our political theory is based on the consent of the governed. Our legal system is built upon the argument that people freely make choices and bear responsibility for them. And what slogan could better express the heart of our consumer culture than "Have it your way"?In this provocative book, Kent Greenfield poses unsettling questions about the choices we make. What if they are more constrained and limited than we like to think? If we have less free will than we realize, what are the implications for us as individuals and for our society? To uncover the answers, Greenfield taps into scholarship on topics ranging from brain science to economics, political theory to sociology. His discoveries—told through an entertaining array of news events, personal anecdotes, crime stories, and legal decisions—confirm that many factors, conscious and unconscious, limit our free will. Worse, by failing to perceive them we leave ourselves open to manipulation. But Greenfield offers useful suggestions to help us become better decision makers as individuals, and to ensure that in our laws and public policy we acknowledge the complexity of choice.

The Limits of Free Will

The Limits of Free Will
Author: Paul Russell
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2017-09-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 019062762X

The Limits of Free Will presents influential articles by Paul Russell concerning free will and moral responsibility. The problems arising in this field of philosophy, which are deeply rooted in the history of the subject, are also intimately related to a wide range of other fields, such as law and criminology, moral psychology, theology, and, more recently, neuroscience. These articles were written and published over a period of three decades, although most have appeared in the past decade. Among the topics covered: the challenge of skepticism; moral sentiment and moral capacity; necessity and the metaphysics of causation; practical reason; free will and art; fatalism and the limits of agency; moral luck, and our metaphysical attitudes of optimism and pessimism. Some essays are primarily critical in character, presenting critiques and commentary on major works or contributions in the contemporary scene. Others are mainly constructive, aiming to develop and articulate a distinctive account of compatibilism. The general theory advanced by Russell, which he describes as a form of "critical compatibilism", rejects any form of unqualified or radical skepticism; but it also insists that a plausible compatibilism has significant and substantive implications about the limits of agency and argues that this licenses a metaphysical attitude of (modest) pessimism on this topic. While each essay is self-standing, there is nevertheless a core set of themes and issues that unite and link them together. The collection is arranged and organized in a format that enables the reader to appreciate and recognize these links and core themes.

Human Duties and the Limits of Human Rights Discourse

Human Duties and the Limits of Human Rights Discourse
Author: Eric R. Boot
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2017-10-24
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3319669575

This book demonstrates the importance of a duty-based approach to morality. The dominance of what has been labeled “rights talk” leads to the neglect of duties without corresponding rights (e.g., duties of virtue) and stimulates the proliferation of questionable human rights. Therefore, this book argues for a duty-based perspective on morality in order to, first, salvage duties of virtue, and, second, counter the trend of rights-proliferation by providing some conceptual clarity concerning rights and duties that will enable us to differentiate between genuine and spurious rights-claims. The argument for this duty-based perspective is made by examining two particularly contentious duties: duties to aid the global poor and civic duties. These two duties serve as case studies and are explored from the perspectives of political theory, jurisprudence and moral philosophy. The argument is made that both these duties can only be adequately defined and allocated if we adopt the perspective of duties, as the predominant perspective of rights either does not recognize them to be duties at all or else leaves their content and allocation indefinite. This renewed focus on duties does not wish to diminish the importance of rights. Rather, the duty-based perspective on morality will strengthen human rights discourse by distinguishing more strictly between genuine and inauthentic rights. Furthermore, a duty-based approach enriches our moral landscape by recognizing both duties of justice and duties of virtue. The latter duties are not less important or supererogatory, but function as indispensable complements to the duties prescribed by justice. In this perceptive and exceptionally lucid book, Eric Boot argues that a duty-focused approach to morality will remedy the shortcomings he finds in the standard accounts of human rights. The study tackles staple philosophical topics such as the contrasts between duties of virtue and duties of justice and imperfect and perfect obligations. But more importantly perhaps, it also confronts the practical question of what our human rights duties are and how we ought to act on them. Boot's book is a splendid example of how philosophy can engage and clarify real world problems. Kok-Chor Tan, Department of Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania A lively and enjoyable defence of the importance of our having duties to fellow human beings in severe poverty. At a time when global justice has never been more urgent, this new book sheds much needed light. Thom Brooks, Professor of Law and Government and Head of Durham Law School, Durham University

Boundaries, Power and Ethical Responsibility in Counselling and Psychotherapy

Boundaries, Power and Ethical Responsibility in Counselling and Psychotherapy
Author: Kirsten Amis
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2017-03-27
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1473987016

The boundaries of the therapeutic relationship are a crucial part of effective therapy. But understanding them, and the effects of power and responsibility, can be intimidating to trainee or newly-qualified therapists. This book will take step by step through everything they need to know to work ethically and safeguard the wellbeing of both themselves and their clients. It tackles: · Contracting and the importance of negotiating and clarifying boundaries with clients · The implications and limits of maintaining confidentiality · Keeping clear sexual boundaries, and how to work around issues safely and appropriately · What happens when circumstances change, and everyday or serious disruptions occur to therapy · The nature of the therapist’s power, and how to employ it responsibly to a client’s benefit Packed with case studies, ethical dilemmas and points for reflection and discussion, this is an essential read for trainee practitioners and qualified therapists looking to ensure safe and ethical practice.

Perspectives on Moral Responsibility

Perspectives on Moral Responsibility
Author: John Martin Fischer
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2018-07-05
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1501721569

Explores aspects of responsibility, including moral accountability; hierarchy, rationality, and the real self; and ethical responsibility and alternative possibilities.

Model Rules of Professional Conduct

Model Rules of Professional Conduct
Author: American Bar Association. House of Delegates
Publisher: American Bar Association
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2007
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9781590318737

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.

Warranties and Disclaimers:Limitations of Liability in Consumer-Related Transactions

Warranties and Disclaimers:Limitations of Liability in Consumer-Related Transactions
Author: Martin Kurer
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
Total Pages: 652
Release: 2002-06-13
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9041198563

As the volume of international business transactions continues to grow dramatically, and as trade relations develop between an ever-increasing number of countries, it is inevitable that many questions of comparative business risk and liability should arise. What common elements underlie the various methods of limiting product liability applied in different national jurisdictions? How do different legal regimes protect the legitimate rights of consumers? These were the fundamental questions addressed by a well-attended seminar on warranties and disclaimers held within the framework of the 2000 Annual Conference of the International Bar Association in Amsterdam. The seminar--jointly sponsored by IBA Committees S (Products, Liability, Advertising, Unfair Competition and Consumer Affairs), M (International Sales and Related Commercial Transactions) and CC (Corporate Counsel)--consisted of four introductory summaries and 33 country reports by local practitioners. The presentations focused on many important issues, including the following: legal and contractual warranties in contracts for the supply of goods or services between manufacturers, distributors and end-users; methods of communicating disclaimers and limitations of liability; strategies for securing limitations of liability downstream; and variations in the legal effectiveness of disclaimers and limitations. This wealth of material has been compiled and reproduced in this remarkably useful book. Business lawyers will find its insights immensely valuable, whether they are drafting contracts or dealing with potential or actual liabilities virtually anywhere in the world.

Can't Catch a Break

Can't Catch a Break
Author: Susan Starr Sered
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2014-09-12
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0520282787

Based on five years of fieldwork in Boston, CanÕt Catch a Break documents the day-to-day lives of forty women as they struggle to survive sexual abuse, violent communities, ineffective social and therapeutic programs, discriminatory local and federal policies, criminalization, incarceration, and a broad cultural consensus that views suffering as a consequence of personal flaws and bad choices. Combining hard-hitting policy analysis with an intimate account of how marginalized women navigate an unforgiving world, Susan Sered and Maureen Norton-Hawk shine new light on the deep and complex connections between suffering and social inequality.