Responsibility, Norm Psychology, and Social Cohesion

Workshop on:

Responsibility, norm-psychology, and social cohesion

Faculty of Philosophy, University of Groningen

May 30th, 2023

Recent philosophical work on responsibility and blame, argues that one function of holding people responsible for their acts and decisions is to enhance social cohesion. Blaming sends a message that cultivates moral agency and shared moral awareness, which in turn improves interpersonal relationships. This view is in line with theories from evolutionary anthropology that stress the adaptive function of norm psychology. Norm psychology is widely regarded as a major contribution to evolved mechanisms that enhance social cohesion, and regulate collaboration. These views from philosophy and evolutionary anthropology are in tension, however, with approaches in conflict-resolution studies and therapy, which are critical of blame and fault-finding. Within these domains, blaming is considered to jeopardize communication, damage interpersonal relations as well as personal growth.

This workshop reconsiders to what extent and in what ways our practices of holding each other to norms help secure social cohesion. Can the above three approaches be reconciled? Are there different notions of social cohesion at play, and if so, which? And what might these three disciplines learn from each other? 

Program

09:30 – 10:30 Kris Moody ‘A partial responsibility response to manipulation’

10:45 – 11:45 Daphne Brandenburg ‘Anger management for philosophers’ 

11:45 – 12:45 Frank Hindriks ‘Promoting Norm-Compliance: From Blame to Empowerment’

12:45 – 14:00 Lunch

14:00 – 15:00 Anneli Jefferson & Katrina L. Sifferd ‘Punishing for whose benefit?’ 

15:00 – 16:00 Jeanette Kennett (keynote) ‘Blame and Social Role Reinforcement’

16:00 – 17:00 Marc Slors & Przemysław Zawadzki