Fair Opportunity and Responsibility (Oxford University Press: 2021) By: David O. Brink Reviewed for Choice Magazine by Ronald F. White, PhD. Mount St. Joseph University

                                                                                                                                                              

This is a complex philosophical and legal analysis of the concepts of “fair opportunity” and “responsibility.” It’s architecture builds upon a host of other moral/legal terms such as: normative competence, cognitive competence, culpability, duress, and provocation. Although we can be held responsible for both praiseworthy and blameworthy actions, this book focused on blameworthy, thus, it is intended to elucidate primarily actions undertaken in criminal law; especially crimes committed by juveniles, the mentally ill, addicts, and battered women. The author persuasively argues that we need to further develop the concept of “partial responsibility” and it’s legal implications. While this is an outstanding philosophical treatise, it’s comprehensibility could have been reinforced with the addition of a few case studies, court cases, and recent events. Critics might wonder whether non-Western cultures embrace the same concepts of fair opportunity and responsibility, thus raising the question of whether those concepts are universal, or rooted exclusively in Western Liberalism. If they are universally applicable, evolutionary psychologists would be interested in the mental mechanisms and brain functions that underlie those concepts. Nevertheless, this is an excellent acquisition for academic libraries that serve law schools, and/or graduate programs in legal jurisprudence or contemporary legal philosophy.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Nature and Nurture of Human Warfare: An Evolutionary Account. By Ronald F. White, PhD.

        I have written several blogs on "Just War Theory."  (https://freedomsphilosopher.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-ethics-of-war.html).  In light of the ongoing war in Ukraine, I thought it would be useful to explore the larger questions of whether human leadership and human warfare are natural behaviors passed on to subsequent generations through our genetic inheritance; or whether those behaviors are learned and therefore passed on over time via teaching and learning (culture). And, in light of those findings, I will speculate whether the quest for global peace a realistic sociopolitical goal.            Like all human institutions, the history of human warfare reveals varying degrees of cultural evolution, devolution, and/or stability over time. We know that warlike behavior has taken place throughout much of human history. There is evidence that groups of Hunters and Gatherers rarely (if ev...
Read more

How Children Invented Humanity: The Role of Development in Human Evolution By: David F. Bjorklund (Oxford University Press:2021) Reviewed by Ronald F. White for Choice Magazine

   Obviously, the title of this book is not to be taken literally. Children did not “invent” “humanity.” Nevertheless, children do develop into adult humans and the process of “development” throughout childhood has been long neglected by evolutionary scholars. This book is rife with esoteric scientific jargon, from both older and emerging sciences: ontogeny, phylogeny, mismatch theory, development, humanity, plasticity, hypersocial, neoteny, baby schema, and heterochrony. Some readers may find this abundance of technical terminology distracting if not overwhelming. The author argues that the neglect of development science has contributed to an increase “adult-directed play” and a precipitous decline of “self-directed free play.” As a result, the feelings, thoughts, and behavior of children today (and later adults) have become increasingly mismatched with their natural familial environment, which has spawned a generation of emotionally fragile children suffering from a variety ...
Read more

PART II: War Leadership: Vladimir Putin's Leadership in the Context of Russia's Bombing of Ukraine.

 In case you haven't followed recent media coverage, President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian army to invade, neighboring, Ukraine by bombing cities and killing thousands of civilians. Survivors migrated to other nearby countries, especially Poland. Critics noted that deliberately bombing cities violates the principles of Just War Theory , and that Putin is therefore a war criminal. Although Ukraine is not a member, the European Union has been sending humanitarian and military hardware aid to Ukraine. Recently, V olodomyr Zylenskyy, duly elected President of Ukraine,  Zelenskyy traveled to the United States seeking more military hardware, especially aircraft and missiles, to help enforce a no-fly-zone over those land areas that the Russians have been using launch to bombers and missiles. In sum, Putin's invasion raises complex leadership puzzles for Joe Biden and the various leaders within the European Union. Should the European Union and/or the United State intervene mili...
Read more