Author ORCID Identifier
0000-0003-3827-0623
Date of Award
5-10-2019
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Philosophy
First Advisor
Andrew I. Cohen
Second Advisor
Andrew Altman
Third Advisor
Christie Hartley
Abstract
I argue that state apologies face a distinctive normative challenge. The reason for this is that when states apologize for their transgressions, they tend to implicate their citizens as morally responsible. However, because citizens are coerced into supporting state activities through taxation, I argue that their responsibility is mitigated. Citizens do not support state transgressions in the same way that private investors support corporate transgressions. Consequently, state apologies have a distinctive difficulty performing one of the core normative functions of apologies – namely, the admission of moral responsibility on behalf of a morally responsible party (or parties). Because of this, state apologies might be normatively deficient, and we should doubt their ability to provide robust moral repair.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/14404438
Recommended Citation
Kushner, Jackson, "The Problem of Coercion in State Apologies." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2019.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/14404438