The concept of responsibility plays a central role in the law and in the morality of interpersonal relations. It is closely related to the idea of liability to various responses. In tort law, responsibility for harm or trespass can make one liable for damages or remedy; in criminal law, responsibility can make one liable to conviction and punishment; in extra-legal contexts, responsibility can make one liable for moral blame and resentment. In these different contexts, liability depends on the various mental states (mens rea) of the agent, or in some cases, it seems, the absence of particular mental states. For example, negligence often involve inadvertence or “indifference”, which seems a matter of not paying attention. That is one of the factors that makes negligence controversial, especially in criminal law. This seminar will explore some classic and contemporary texts by legal theorists and philosophers on the topics of responsibility liability, and negligence.
