Volume 41, Issue 2, April 2015
David Alm
Pages 253-274
Responsibility, Manipulation, and Resentment
The paper presents a compatibilist explanation of why manipulated agents are not responsible for the actions that result from the manipulation. I first show that an agent’s having reason to resent being manipulated into action is a sufficient condition for his not being responsible for that action, and so an adequate explanation of the latter fact in standard cases in which the agent does have reason to resent. I then consider some cases in which, apparently, manipulation is not cause for resentment, and suggest a way of generalizing the original explanation. I also compare the suggested approach with alternatives.