Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the respects in which our mental states and events form the basis of ascribing moral and legal responsibility to individual persons for their actions, failures to act, and the consequences of these actions and failures. It discusses cases in which neurobiological and social factors do, and do not, excuse persons from responsibility. The book demonstrates that no alternative possibilities of choice or action are necessary for a person to be responsible, and emphasizes the importance of beliefs and intentions in establishing responsibility for them. It also demonstrates that no alternative possibilities of choice or action are necessary for a person to be responsible, and emphasizes the importance of beliefs and intentions in establishing responsibility for them. Beliefs and intentions form the core of the cognitive component of causal control over events.