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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
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    When responsibility is only partially mitigated, forgiven... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Forgiveness and excuse are distinct concepts.

    When responsibility is only partially mitigated, forgiveness and partial excuse operate on the same residual blameworthy agency simultaneously, making their boundary indeterminate rather than sharp.

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    Reasons For

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    Reason for
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    • 1.Partial mitigation leaves residual culpability that requires dual response: acknowledging wrongdoing (excuse) while maintaining accountability (forgiveness).
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    • 2.Mental states rarely fit discrete categories; most agents possess mixed intentions, diminished capacity, and circumstantial pressure simultaneously.
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    • 3.Sharp boundaries between forgiveness and excuse presume binary responsibility states, but moral agency operates on a continuous spectrum.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Forgiveness and excuse serve distinct logical functions: excuse eliminates responsibility; forgiveness presupposes it. They cannot collapse into indeterminacy.
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    • 2.Indeterminate boundaries undermine practical judgment; moral and legal systems require principled distinctions to assign accountability fairly and consistently.
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    • 3.Partial mitigation simply reduces—not eliminates—responsibility, preserving clear categorical difference between excuse and forgiveness even at diminished levels.
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    Key Terms

    Forgiveness(as used in ethics)
    The act of letting go of anger or resentment toward someone who has hurt you, and choosing not to hold their wrongdoing against them anymore.
    Indeterminate(Reichenbach's three-valued quantum logic)
    The value of propositions that quantum theory implies cannot be assessed to be either true or false
    Mitigated(as used in ethics)
    Made less severe or serious; reduced in degree or impact.
    Residual(as referring to meaning left behind after negation)
    Something that remains or is left over after everything else has been taken away or removed.
    agency(Used to assess whether switching the trolley is deontologically prohibited.)
    A morally relevant sense in which an agent is the direct cause of harm, invoked in deontological constraints; its absence removes a deontological bar to acting.
    blameworthy(Applied to agents who are morally responsible for doing something wrong)
    Deserving of hard treatment marked by resentment and indignation and the actions these emotions dispose us toward, such as censure, rebuke, and ostracism
    excuse(Aquinas's conscience theory)
    Removes or mitigates culpability for an action; distinct from binding, which concerns obligation
    responsibility(as used in ethics)
    Being morally accountable for your actions—deserving praise or blame for what you do.

    Connections

    1 topic

    Forgiveness & Mercy1 linked

    Related

    Forgiveness and excuse are distinct concepts.Forgiveness and excuse serve distinct logical functions: excuse eliminates respo...Indeterminate boundaries undermine practical judgment; moral and legal systems r...Mental states rarely fit discrete categories; most agents possess mixed intentio...

    Details

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
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    +3 moreShow less
    Partial mitigation leaves residual culpability that requires dual response: ackn...Partial mitigation simply reduces—not eliminates—responsibility, preserving clea...Sharp boundaries between forgiveness and excuse presume binary responsibility st...