The transfer of duties: From individuals to states and back again

Book chapter

Collins, Stephanie and Lawford-Smith, Holly. (2016). The transfer of duties: From individuals to states and back again. In In M. Brady and M. Fricker (Ed.). The epistemic life of groups: Essays in the epistemology of collectives pp. 150 - 172 Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198759645.003.0009
AuthorsCollins, Stephanie and Lawford-Smith, Holly
EditorsM. Brady and M. Fricker
Abstract

We often make claims about the duties of states. One might think, for example, that Australia has a duty to legalize homosexual marriage, or that the United States has a duty to make healthcare affordable. Can such duties be explained in terms of individuals’ duties? This chapter argues that many—though not all—can. The chapter builds a general and abstract analysis of how some collectives’ duties are explained by individuals’ duties, and applies it to states in a way that retains common-sense intuitions about states’ duties. It then uses that analysis to suggest a new sense of membership in a state. The analysis depends crucially on epistemic elements, including the beliefs and transfers of information required for reciprocal recognition and intentional participation; certain other bidirectional transfers of knowledge; and the required degree of justification for certain key beliefs.

Keywordsstates; duties; membership; information; recognition; participation; transfer; knowledge
Page range150 - 172
Year2016
Book titleThe epistemic life of groups: Essays in the epistemology of collectives
PublisherOxford University Press
Place of publicationUnited States of America
ISBN9780198759645
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198759645.003.0009
Research GroupDianoia Institute of Philosophy
Publisher's version
File Access Level
Controlled
Permalink -

https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/89q3w/the-transfer-of-duties-from-individuals-to-states-and-back-again

Log in to edit

Restricted files

Publisher's version

  • 142
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 9
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month
These values are for the period from 19th October 2020, when this repository was created.

Export as

Related outputs

I, VOLKSWAGEN
Collins, Stephanie. (2022). I, VOLKSWAGEN. The Philosophical Quarterly. 72(2), pp. 283-304. https://doi.org/10.1093/pq/pqab032
Interconnected blameworthiness
Collins, Stephanie and de Haan, Niels. (2021). Interconnected blameworthiness. Monist. 104(2), pp. 195-209. https://doi.org/10.1093/monist/onaa032
We the people : Is the polity the state?
Collins, Stephanie and Lawford-Smith, Holly. (2021). We the people : Is the polity the state? Journal of the American Philosophical Association. 7(1), pp. 78-97. https://doi.org/10.1017/apa.2020.15
Collective responsibility and international relations
Collins, Stephanie. (2020). Collective responsibility and international relations. In In Bazargan-Forward, Saba and Tollefsen, Deborah (Ed.). Routledge handbook of collective responsibility pp. 331-346 Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315107608-27
How much can we ask of collective agents?
Collins, Stephanie. (2020). How much can we ask of collective agents? Canadian Journal of Philosophy. 50(7), pp. 815-831. https://doi.org/10.1017/can.2020.42
Are organizations’ religious exemptions democratically defensible?
Collins, Stephanie. (2020). Are organizations’ religious exemptions democratically defensible? Daedalus. 149(3), pp. 105-118. https://doi.org/10.1162/DAED_a_01806
Corporations' duties in a changing climate
Collins, Stephanie. (2020). Corporations' duties in a changing climate. In In Moss, Jeremy and Umbers, Lachlan (Ed.). Climate justice and non-state actors : corporations regions, cities, and individuals pp. 84-100 Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429351877
Group duties : Their existence and their implications for individuals
Collins, Stephanie. (2019). Group duties : Their existence and their implications for individuals Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198840275.001.0001
Beyond individualism
Collins, Stephanie. (2019). Beyond individualism. In In Greaves, Hilary and Pummer, Theron (Ed.). Effective altruism: Philosophical issues pp. 202-217 Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198841364.003.0013
Collective Responsibility Gaps
Collins, Stephanie. (2019). Collective Responsibility Gaps. Journal of Business Ethics. 154(4), pp. 943 - 954. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3890-6
Who does wrong when an organisation does wrong?
Collins, Stephanie. (2018). Who does wrong when an organisation does wrong? In In Hess, Kendy, Igneski, Violetta and Isaacs, Tracy Lynn (Ed.). Collectivity : Ontology, ethics, and social justice pp. 197-220 Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc..
When does ‘Can’ imply ‘Ought’?
Collins, Stephanie. (2018). When does ‘Can’ imply ‘Ought’? International Journal of Philosophical Studies. 26(3), pp. 354 - 375. https://doi.org/10.1080/09672559.2018.1489643
‘The Government should be ashamed’: On the possibility of organisations’ emotional duties
Collins, Stephanie. (2018). ‘The Government should be ashamed’: On the possibility of organisations’ emotional duties. Political Studies. 66(4), pp. 813 - 829. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032321717739553
Care ethics : The four key claims
Collins, Stephanie. (2017). Care ethics : The four key claims. In In Morrow, David R. (Ed.). Moral reasoning : A text and reader on ethics and contemporary moral issues pp. 193-204 Oxford University Press.
Duties of group agents and group members
Collins, Stephanie. (2017). Duties of group agents and group members. Journal of Social Philosophy. 48(1), pp. 38-57. https://doi.org/10.1111/josp.12181
The present and the future of the Research Excellence Framework impact agenda in the UK Academy: A reflection from politics and international studies
Mhurchú, Aoileann Ní, McLeod, Laura, Collins, Stephanie and Siles-Brügge, Gabriel. (2017). The present and the future of the Research Excellence Framework impact agenda in the UK Academy: A reflection from politics and international studies. Political Studies Review. 15(1), pp. 60 - 72. https://doi.org/10.1177/1478929916658918
Filling collective duty gaps
Collins, Stephanie. (2017). Filling collective duty gaps. Journal of Philosophy. 114(11), pp. 573 - 591. https://doi.org/10.5840/jphil20171141141
Responsibility for states' actions: Normative issues at the intersection of collective agency and state responsibility
Lawford-Smith, Holly and Collins, Stephanie. (2017). Responsibility for states' actions: Normative issues at the intersection of collective agency and state responsibility. Philosophy Compass. 12(11), pp. 1 - 8. https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12456
The claims and duties of socioeconomic human rights
Collins, Stephanie. (2016). The claims and duties of socioeconomic human rights. The Philosophical Quarterly. 66(265), pp. 701 - 722. https://doi.org/10.1093/pq/pqw010
Collectives' and individuals' obligations: A parity argument
Collins, Stephanie and Lawford-Smith, Holly. (2016). Collectives' and individuals' obligations: A parity argument. Canadian Journal of Philosophy. 46(1), pp. 38 - 58. https://doi.org/10.1080/00455091.2015.1116350
Distributing states' duties
Collins, Stephanie. (2016). Distributing states' duties. Journal of Political Philosophy. 24(3), pp. 344 - 366. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopp.12069