A study on the intersection between moral dilemmas and moral responsibility

• Grant number: 23/05335-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: September 01, 2023
• End date: February 29, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - Ethics
• Principal Investigator: Marco Antonio Caron Ruffino
• Grantee: Alex Bispo Bastos
• Supervisor: Michael McKenna
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Arizona, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/12398-5 - A study on the intersection between moral dilemmas and moral responsibility, BP.MS

Abstract

This project aims to present and justify our research proposal for obtaining a Research Internship Scholarship Abroad (BEPE). We plan to conduct a six-month master's research program at the University of Arizona under the guidance of Professor Michael McKenna. Our research will focus on the philosophical problems involving the intersection between debates on moral dilemmas and the nature of moral responsibility. We intend to study some of the most important topics on moral responsibility and analyze the consequences of these discussions in the metaethical debate about the existence of moral dilemmas. We propose to study the discussion of the truth of the Principle of Alternative Possibilities (PAP), Frankfurt's counterexamples, and the relationship between PAP, the principle that "ought" implies "can" (OIC), and the "objective view" of blameworthiness. This is relevant because the debate about the existence of moral dilemmas depends on OIC. Thus, if PAP is false because of Frankfurt's counterexamples and if the principle is directly related to OIC, as suggested by proponents of the derivation thesis of PAP from OIC, then OIC is false for the same reason. Our main goal is, therefore, to investigate the underexplored consequences of this result in the debate on moral dilemmas. Considering that if OIC is false, we will have central implications on arguments for and against the existence of dilemmas. (AU)