Responsibility Regarding the Unthinkable

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Michael Zimmerman, Professor and Philosophy Pre-Law Concentration Advisor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: Connie is walking down Main Street. From a distance, she sees a young child screaming for help, blood pouring from a gash in his head. There are many other pedestrians on the street but, to Connie's amazement and horror, they ignore the child's pleas and pass him by. She rushes up to the child, seeking to help him. Any other course of action would have been unthinkable to her, for Connie is a compassionate person. Is Connie morally responsible for not ignoring the child's pleas for help? This is the question that I shall explore in this paper. But be forewarned: I shall not try to provide a definitive answer to this question.

Additional Information

Publication
Midwest Studies in Philosophy, 20 (1995): 204-223
Language: English
Date: 1995
Keywords
moral responsibility, unthinkable, Principle of Alternate Possibilities

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