Introduction

Abstract

Morality is a fundamental part of our worldview. We view people as acting rightly or wrongly, making the world better or worse, and being virtuous or vicious. These policies are central to our justifying the ways we treat others, the people we befriend, our identities, and so on. Moral responsibility is also central to the notion that people can, and often are, praise- or blameworthy. We have a family of attitudes that presuppose moral responsibility. On the positive side we feel gratitude, pride, reciprocal love, and forgiveness. On the negative side, we feel resentment, indignation, anger, and shame. We also seem to have a distinct sort of love toward those who freely and reciprocally love us. Our daily view of the world is almost, if not completely, unimaginable without responsibility. In this book, I argue against (non-consequentialist) morality and morally responsibility.