Omissions as possibilities

Sara Bernstein

doi:10.1007/s11098-013-0229-0

Omissions as possibilities

Sara Bernstein^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

42 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

I present and develop the view that omissions are de re possibilities of actual events. Omissions do not literally fail to occur; rather, they possibly occur. An omission is a tripartite metaphysical entity composed of an actual event, a possible event, and a contextually specified counterpart relation between them. This view resolves ontological, causal, and semantic puzzles about omissions, and also accounts for important data about moral responsibility for outcomes resulting from omissions.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-23
Number of pages	23
Journal	Philosophical Studies
Volume	167
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-013-0229-0
Publication status	Published - Jan 2014
Externally published	Yes

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10.1007/s11098-013-0229-0

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title = "Omissions as possibilities",

abstract = "I present and develop the view that omissions are de re possibilities of actual events. Omissions do not literally fail to occur; rather, they possibly occur. An omission is a tripartite metaphysical entity composed of an actual event, a possible event, and a contextually specified counterpart relation between them. This view resolves ontological, causal, and semantic puzzles about omissions, and also accounts for important data about moral responsibility for outcomes resulting from omissions.",

keywords = "Causation, Causation by omission, Moral responsibility, Omissions",

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AB - I present and develop the view that omissions are de re possibilities of actual events. Omissions do not literally fail to occur; rather, they possibly occur. An omission is a tripartite metaphysical entity composed of an actual event, a possible event, and a contextually specified counterpart relation between them. This view resolves ontological, causal, and semantic puzzles about omissions, and also accounts for important data about moral responsibility for outcomes resulting from omissions.

KW - Causation

KW - Causation by omission

KW - Moral responsibility

KW - Omissions

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M3 - Article

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JO - Philosophical Studies

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Omissions as possibilities

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