Ignorance and Blame

1000-Word Philosophy (2019)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Sometimes ignorance is a legitimate excuse for morally wrong behavior, and sometimes it isn’t. If someone has secretly replaced my sugar with arsenic, then I’m blameless for putting arsenic in your tea. But if I put arsenic in your tea because I keep arsenic and sugar jars on the same shelf and don’t label them, then I’m plausibly blameworthy for poisoning you. Why is my ignorance in the first case a legitimate excuse, but my ignorance in the second case isn’t? This essay explores the relationship between ignorance and blameworthiness.

Author's Profile

Daniel J. Miller
West Virginia University

Analytics

Added to PP
2019-05-28

Downloads
603 (#36,565)

6 months
142 (#28,915)

Historical graph of downloads since first upload
This graph includes both downloads from PhilArchive and clicks on external links on PhilPapers.
How can I increase my downloads?