Collectives' and individuals' obligations: a parity argument

Stephanie Collins, Holly Lawford-Smith

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Individuals have various kinds of obligations: keep promises, don't cause harm, return benefits received from injustices, be partial to loved ones, help the needy and so on. How does this work for group agents? There are two questions here. The first is whether groups can bear the same kinds of obligations as individuals. The second is whether groups' pro tanto obligations plug into what they all-thingsconsidered ought to do to the same degree that individuals' pro tanto obligations plug into what they all-things-considered ought to do. We argue for parity on both counts.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)38-58
Number of pages21
JournalCanadian Journal of Philosophy
Volume46
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Associative obligation
  • Beneficence
  • Benefit
  • Collective obligation
  • Collective responsibility
  • Demandingness
  • Group agency
  • Individual obligation
  • Promises
  • Wrongdoing

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