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Untangling Historical Injustice and Historical Ill
Der Unterschied zwischen historischem Unrecht und historischem Übel
[journal article]
Abstract This article distinguishes historical ills and historical injustices. It conceives of the latter as legalised natural crimes, committed by morally competent agents. A natural crime consists in the deliberate violation of a natural right. 'Legalised' means that the natural crime must be prescribed, p... view more
This article distinguishes historical ills and historical injustices. It conceives of the latter as legalised natural crimes, committed by morally competent agents. A natural crime consists in the deliberate violation of a natural right. 'Legalised' means that the natural crime must be prescribed, permitted or tolerated by the legal system. I advocate an approach which assesses moral competence on the basis of an exposedness criterion, that is: a historical agent must not be blamed for failing to see the right moral reasons if his epoch and social world is utterly unacquainted with these reasons. However, an appropriate application of the exposedness criterion should take social factors and psychological mechanisms into account that obstruct access to the right reasons. I state a number of factors that seem to be auspicious for the development of moral competence.... view less
Keywords
social responsibility; conception of history; morality; sense of responsibility; historical consciousness; justice; law; reparation; responsibility; guilt
Classification
General Sociology, Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Sociology, Sociological Theories
Law
Document language
English
Publication Year
2009
Page/Pages
p. 4-8
Journal
Intergenerational Justice Review, 2009 (2009) 1
Issue topic
Historical Injustice
DOI
https://doi.org/10.24357/igjr.1.1.516
ISSN
2190-6335
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed