Abstract
Most moral philosophers agree that if a moral agent is incapable of performing some act N" because of a physical incapacity, then they do not have a reason to N". Most also claim that if an agent is incapable of N"-ing due to a psychological incapacity, brought about by, for example, an obsession or phobia, then this does not preclude them from having a reason to N". This is because the 'ought implies can' principle is usually interpreted as a claim about physical, rather than psychological, capacities. In this paper I argue for an opposing view: if we don't have reasons to do things that we are physically incapable of doing, then neither do we have reasons to do things we are psychologically incapable of doing. I also argue that extending the 'ought implies can' principle to psychological capacities makes the principle more attractive
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 521-531 |
Journal | Ethical Theory and Moral Practice |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2012 |