What is Moral Responsibility?

Moral responsibility refers to the status where an agent's actions make them an appropriate target for certain attitudes and practices. These include 'reactive attitudes' like resentment, indignation, gratitude, and approval, as well as practices like praise, blame, reward, and punishment. It signifies deserving these responses for an act or omission based on moral obligations.

It's crucial to differentiate moral responsibility from causal responsibility. One can be causally responsible for an event without being morally responsible. For example, if a cat spills water on a computer, it is causally responsible for the damage, but not morally responsible, as it cannot be a target for reactive attitudes like resentment. Only agents capable of understanding moral obligations can be morally responsible.

Generally, only persons can be morally responsible for their actions. However, not all persons are always considered fully morally responsible; for instance, young children are typically not held to full moral accountability. The conditions under which persons become morally responsible and are appropriate targets for reactive attitudes and practices of praise or blame are subjects of ongoing philosophical debate.