The Stance of Moral Protest

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.1093/oso/9780192846006.003.0002 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 27-53

Author(s):

Derk Pereboom

Keyword(s):

Prima Facie ◽

Instrumental Reason ◽

Moral Formation ◽

Self Blame ◽

Basic Desert ◽

Forward Looking

Chapter 2 sets out a conception of blame without the notion of deserved pain or harm. To blame is instead to take on a non-retributive stance of moral protest. The reasons for taking on this stance are forward looking: moral formation or reconciliation in a relationship that has been impaired as a result of the wrongdoing, protection from wrongdoing, and restoration of the integrity of its victims. Regret, a painful response to one’s own wrongdoing which by contrast with guilt (by stipulation) does not involve the supposition that the pain it involves is basically deserved, may appropriately accompany self-blame. The pain of guilt, an attitude distinct from regret, conceptually involves basic desert since it involves the supposition that it would be prima facie permissible for those who are suitably situated to intentionally impose it on a wrongdoer for a non-instrumental reason. The pain of regret does not involve this supposition.

Download Full-text

Responsibility, Regret, and Protest

10.1093/oso/9780198805601.003.0007 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Derk Pereboom

Keyword(s):

Moral Obligation ◽

Moral Obligations ◽

Moral Formation ◽

Moral Demand ◽

Moral Demands ◽

Forward Looking

Is morality viable without the notions of desert, moral demand, and moral obligation, notions threatened by possible limitations in human abilities? This essay contends that it may well be. Instead of invoking desert, blame can be largely forward-looking, recast as appropriate moral protest, and aiming at protection, moral formation, and reconciliation. Moral demands in relationships can be re-envisioned as commitments deriving from care, and failure to act in accord with one’s commitments can be conceived as wrong in the sense that they are appropriately protested. Moral obligations can be reconfigured as axiological recommendations. Revision of morality poses risks, but it is argued that the changes envisioned are practically viable.

Download Full-text

Coping Style as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Depressive Symptoms and Deliberate Self-Harm

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000083 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 32 (5) ◽

pp. 272-279 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Allison S. Christian ◽

Kristen M. McCabe

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Self Report ◽

Hierarchical Regression ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Deliberate Self Harm ◽

Self Blame ◽

Self Harm ◽

The Relationship

Background: Deliberate self-harm (DSH) occurs with high frequency among clinical and nonclinical youth populations. Although depression has been consistently linked with the behavior, not all depressed individuals engage in DSH. Aims: The current study examined maladaptive coping strategies (i.e., self-blame, distancing, and self-isolation) as mediators between depression and DSH among undergraduate students. Methods: 202 students from undergraduate psychology courses at a private university in Southern California (77.7% women) completed anonymous self-report measures. Results: A hierarchical regression model found no differences in DSH history across demographic variables. Among coping variables, self-isolation alone was significantly related to DSH. A full meditational model was supported: Depressive symptoms were significantly related to DSH, but adding self-isolation to the model rendered the relationship nonsignificant. Limitations: The cross-sectional study design prevents determination of whether a casual relation exists between self-isolation and DSH, and obscures the direction of that relationship. Conclusions: Results suggest targeting self-isolation as a means of DSH prevention and intervention among nonclinical, youth populations.

Download Full-text