Perpetrators Of Atrocity Essay

This paper investigates the moral psychology behind occurrences of atrocity, their key claim is that “Perpetrators of atrocity typically occupy excusing conditions and are therefore not morally responsible for their conduct”. This paper is not suggesting this makes the atrocities committed acceptable or even that the people who commit them deserve less criminal punishment. What the paper is suggesting is that there are situations that profoundly degrade an individuals’ capacity for the cognitive ability needed for moral judgment and prevent the acknowledgement of moral responsibility.
They reach this conclusion by considering philosophical situations considered to be cognitively degrading and which prevent capable mature individuals from behaving morally responsibly. These situations are regarded to be excusing conditions. They also present empirical observations on moral psychology and combat, supporting the argument that war is very often cognitively degrading enough to prevent the ability to behave morally therefore rendering those individuals at war not morally culpable. The atrocities committed in combat at Abu …show more content…
Transient cognitive disruptions briefly impact normal cognitive functioning to create excusing conditions, they aren’t a chronic mental condition. Much like in the (Darley, 2004) paper they refute they bad apple theory as a sole reason for the atrocities committed in battle, and support the “cascade effect” of more individuals joining in. People want to believe it is only psychologically debilitated i.e. shellshock) or inherently evil people implicated. They reference the My Lai massacre where a large majority of the soldiers take part, not just the “bad” few. They suggest combat conditions provoke intense cognitively degrading factors that allow for morally wrong behaviour in regular