Group Responsibility

Drawing on work in social psychology, narrative ethics, and feminist philosophy, the author presents a new account which answers the standard objections while also giving practical guidance to individuals who take their group-related responsibilities seriously.

Since World War II philosophers and others have sporadically and not altogether successfully wrestled with the moral problem presented by group responsibility for such atrocities as the Holocaust, 'ethnic cleansing,' racial violence and other great harms. Skillfully and selectively discussing the merits and serious drawbacks of some of the key contributions to this debate, Cassie Striblen defends a plausible yet demanding account of shared responsibility among members of the 'white' identity group based on insights from social psychology and narrative theory. Her new and subtle proposal should do much to bring serious discussion of group responsibility back into focus and sets a new standard for future debate on the topic. Lawrence Jost, University of Cincinnati, USA

Autorentext
Cassie Striblen is an assistant professor of Philosophy at West Chester University near Philadelphia. She has published on group responsibility with the Journal of Social Philosophy and Social Theory and Practice. Before entering academia, Dr. Striblen taught public school in New Orleans and served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan.

Inhalt
Acknowledgements Introduction: The Problem of 'Collective' or 'Group' Responsibility 1. Locating Questions of Group Responsibility: A Troubling Case 2. Developing an Alternative Approach: A Lesson from Social Psychology 3. Defining Identity Groups: The Importance of Narrative 4. Broadening Participation: Arendt and May on Shared Responsibility 5. A Narrative Account of Shared Responsibility Conclusion: Extending the Narrative Account Notes Works Cited Index