MORAL RESPONSIBILITY

1
MORAL RESPONSIBILITY

• By Ronald F. White, Ph.D.
• Professor of Philosophy
• College of Mount St. Joseph

2
Conceptual Framework

• Praise and Blame
• Forward Looking (Teleological)
• Backward Looking (Deontological)
• Legal Responsibility and Moral Responsibility
• Individual Responsibility
• Collective Responsibility

3
Individual Responsibility

• Responsible Persons
• Rationality
• Free Will
• Responsibility Limiting Conditions
• Imperfect information
• Imperfect Freedom
• Personal Coercion (Threats and Enticements)
• Circumstantial Coercion
• Social Coercion
• Biological Coercion

4
Collective Responsibility

• Groups as Voluntary Associations
• Hierarchies
• Leaders and Followers
• Information Flow-
• Coercive Power-delegation of responsibility
• Responsibility Within Hierarchies
• Information
• Consent
• Coercive Force-
• Threats and Freedom to Exit
• Shared Responsibility

5
CASES

• Jim Jones-
• The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project
• Jonestown, Guyana
• Mass Suicide (Nov. 1978) 914 died 638 adults
  and 276 children
• Enron Scandal- Corporate Culture

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Federal Sentencing Guidelines 1991

• Assessing Legal Responsibility for Organizations
• Individual Culpability
• Corporate Culpability
• Organizational Structure can Cause Criminal
  Activity
• Diffusion of Responsibility in Organizations
• Strengthen Internal Mechanisms to Prevent
  Criminal Activity by Agents and Employees
• Theories
• Respondeat Superior Theory-any crime committed by
  an employee within an organization is the
  prganizations responsibility. (even rogue
  employees)
• Model Penal Code Theory-direct participation,
  authorization, or tolerance of high officials.
• Corporate Character Theory-culpability based on
  corporate policies or customs cause agents or
  employees to violate the law on behalf of the
  corporation.
• Participation of HIGH Managerial Officials
• Prior History
• Obstruction of Justice and Cooperation with
  Authorities
• Program to Prevent and Detect Violations of Law