The Ethics and Law of Omissions

Dana Kay Nelkin (B.A. University of Texas 1988; Ph.D. UCLA 1995) is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. Her areas of research include ethics and moral psychology, and she has written articles on a variety of topics including forgiveness, friendship, self-deception, and the lottery paradox, as well as a book, Making Sense of Freedom and Responsibility.

Samuel C. Rickless (B.A. Harvard 1986; B.Phil. Oxford 1988; Ph.D. UCLA 1996) is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. His areas of research include ethics, philosophy of law, ancient Greek philosophy, and early modern western European philosophy. He has authored books on Plato, Berkeley, and Locke, and has co-edited a volume on the ethics of war.

Introduction: Dana Kay Nelkin and Samuel C. Rickless

Part I: Omissions, Moral Responsibility, and the Self
1. Unintentional Omissions George Sher
2. Omission and Attribution Error Matthew Talbert
3. Unconscious Omissions, Reasonable Expectations, and Responsibility Angela M. Smith

Part II: Omissions, Moral Responsibility, and Control
4. Blameworthiness and Unwitting Omissions Randolph Clarke
5. Omissions, Agency, and Control Michael J. Zimmerman
6. Moral Responsibility for Unwitting Omissions: A New Tracing View Dana Kay Nelkin and Samuel C. Rickless

Part III: Omissions, Moral Responsibility, and Alternative Possibilities
7. The Puzzle(s) of Frankfurt-Style Omission Cases Carolina Sartorio
8. Responsibility and Omissions John Martin Fischer

Part IV: Criminal Liability for Omissions
9. Courses of Conduct Douglas Husak
10. Duties to Act Triggered by Creation of the Peril: Easy Cases, Puzzling Cases, and Complex Culpability Larry Alexander

Part V: The Duty Requirement in the Criminal Law of Omissions
11. The Duty Requirement Gideon Yaffe
12. Omissions, Acts, and the Duty to Rescue Kimberly Kessler Ferzan