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The transfer of duties: From individuals to states and back again
Collins, Stephanie Lawford-Smith, Holly
Collins, Stephanie
Lawford-Smith, Holly
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.
Keywords
states, duties, membership, information, recognition, participation, transfer, knowledge
Date
2016
Type
Book chapter
Journal
Book
The epistemic life of groups: Essays in the epistemology of collectives
Volume
Issue
Page Range
150-172
Article Number
ACU Department
Dianoia Institute of Philosophy
Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled