Irrational Blame

Analysis. 2013 Oct 1;73(4):10.1093/analys/ant075. doi: 10.1093/analys/ant075.

Abstract

I clarify some ambiguities in blame-talk and argue that blame's potential for irrationality and propensity to sting vitiates accounts of blame that identify it with consciously accessible, personal-level judgements or beliefs. Drawing on the cognitive psychology of emotion and appraisal theory, I develop an account of blame that accommodates these features. I suggest that blame consists in a range of hostile, negative first-order emotions, towards which the blamer has a specific, accompanying second-order attitude, namely, a feeling of entitlement - a feeling that these hostile, negative first-order emotions are what the blamed object deserves.

Keywords: belief; blame; emotion; irrationality; judgment.