Emily McRae, New Mexico :: Moral Ignorance Beyond Blame: A Buddhist Approach to Understanding Ignorance 

Abstract: In contemporary analytic philosophical ethics, giving an account of moral ignorance nearly always means giving an account of moral responsibility for ignorance, that is, when, whether, and why we are blameworthy for our ignorance. But this is like giving an account of moral knowledge that only addresses when it is praiseworthy; there is much more to both topics than the framework of praise and blame can uncover. I argue that the disciplinary preoccupation blameworthiness for ignorance, though productive and insightful for understanding moral responsibility, comes with serious philosophical costs for understanding moral ignorance. I conclude by introducing a Buddhist-inspired model of moral ignorance that is not anchored to assignations of blame or moral responsibility.