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    Does Ought Imply Can?

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    Author
    LAWFORD-SMITH, H; Kurthy, M; Sousa, P
    Date
    2017-06-01
    Source Title
    PLoS One
    Publisher
    Public Library of Science (PLoS)
    University of Melbourne Author/s
    Lawford-Smith, Holly
    Affiliation
    School of Historical and Philosophical Studies
    Metadata
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    Document Type
    Journal Article
    Citations
    LAWFORD-SMITH, H., Kurthy, M. & Sousa, P. (2017). Does Ought Imply Can?. PLoS ONE, 12 (4), pp.1-24. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175206.
    Access Status
    Open Access
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11343/255672
    DOI
    10.1371/journal.pone.0175206
    Abstract
    Most philosophers believe that a person can have an obligation only insofar as she is able to fulfil it, a principle generally referred to as "Ought Implies Can". Arguably, this principle reflects something basic about the ordinary concept of obligation. However, in a paper published recently in this journal, Wesley Buckwalter and John Turri presented evidence for the conclusion that ordinary people in fact reject that principle. With a series of studies, they claimed to have demonstrated that, in people's judgements, obligations persist irrespective of whether those who hold them have the ability to fulfil them. We argue in this paper that due to some problems in their design, Buckwalter & Turri's conclusions may not be warranted. We present the results of a series of studies demonstrating the problems with their design and showing that, with an improved design, people judge that obligation depends on ability after all.

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