Personal responsibility
Subtitle: why it matters
By: Alexander Brown.
Publisher: Continuum
Published: 2009
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 214
ISBN-13: 9781847063984; 9781847063991
Subjects: Responsibility
Description: "Personal responsibility is now very much on the political agenda. But what is personal responsibility? Why do we care about it? And what, if anything, should governments do to promote it? This book explores the idea that individuals bear a special responsibility for the success or failure of their own lives looking at philosophical theories, political ideologies, and public opinion on the subject. Alexander Brown lends support to a recent move in political philosophy to deal with real world problems and shows how philosophy can contribute to public democratic debate on pressing issues of personal responsibility."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: What is personal responsibility?; title: Ordinary language; title: Common conceptions; title: What do philosophers mean by responsibility?; title: Personally responsible for what?; title: What do philosophers think? part I; title: Causes; title: Capacity; title: Control; title: Choice versus brute luck; title: Second-order attitudes; title: Equality of opportunity; title: Deservingness; title: Reasonableness; title: Reciprocity; title: Equal shares; title: Combining criteria; title: What do philosophers think? part II; title: Utility; title: Self-respect; title: Autonomy; title: Human flourishing; title: Natural duties and special obligations; title: A matter of perspectives; title: Combining values; title: What do politicians think?; title: A brief typology; title: International comparisons; title: Welfare reform; title: Healthcare reform; title: Rights and responsibilities; title: On the responsibilities of politicians; title: What do ordinary people think?; title: Why ask?; title: Attitudes to welfare claimants; title: When push comes to shove; title: Perceptions and reality; title: Further international comparisons; title: The trouble with opinion surveys; title: Four contemporary issues in focus; title: Unemployment; title: Health; title: Drug abuse; title: Personal debt and financial rewards; title: So how do we decide?; title: Getting the public involved; title: Citizens juries; title: Answering some potential criticisms.