Moral Failure: On the Impossible Demands of Morality

By Lisa Tessman

Book Overview

Moral Failure: On the Impossible Demands of Morality asks what happens when the sense that "I must" collides with the realization that "I can't." Bringing together philosophical and empirical work in moral psychology, Lisa Tessman here examines moral requirements that are non-negotiable and that contravene the principle that "ought implies can." In some cases, it is because two non-negotiable requirements conflict that one of them becomes impossible to satisfy, and yet remains binding. In other cases, performing a particular action may be non-negotiably required -- even if it is impossible -- because not performing the action is unthinkable.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0190650915
• ISBN13: 9780190650919
• Release Date: October 2016
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"