Empirical Examination of Moral Responsibility

Philosophical orthodoxy asserts that moral responsibility protects dignity and rights and the innocent; but empirical examination of the actual consequences of strong cultural belief in moral responsibility tells a very different story. Stronger the belief in moral responsibility—whether comparing cultures or subcultures—promotes harsher and more degrading punitive measures, less concern with protection of the innocent, and less commitment to protecting and fostering the dignity and opportunity and well-being of all persons in the culture.