This is the key to a good excuse, new research suggests
A Cambridge University study, published in the journal Philosophy And Public Affairs, claims to provide for the first time a "unified theory of excuses" which the author calls the Good Intention Account.
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Hide AdDr Paulina Sliwa, of Cambridge's Faculty of Philosophy, wrote that excuses are "responsibility-modifiers" which demonstrate one's morally adequate intentions.
"Successful excuses can mitigate our blame but they don't get us off the hook completely," she said.
"Saying we were tired or stressed doesn't absolve us from moral responsibility completely, though they do change others' perceptions of what we owe to make up for it and how the offended party should feel about our wrongdoing."
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Hide AdThe following excuses "often work", she said, listing: "I am sorry for forgetting the appointment - I had a terrible migraine / I haven't slept for the last three nights / I was preoccupied with
worries about my mother's health; or I'm sorry I broke your vase - I stumbled over the rug."
"They all indicate an adequate underlying moral motivation that was thwarted by external circumstances," she said.
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Hide Ad"Things that will never work are appeals to weakness of will 'I just couldn't resist' or 'It was too tempting' don't work.
"Nor do appeals to things that are obviously immoral."
In a legal context, appeals to duress, coercion or provocation will turn on the details of a case, she said.
"Philosophy can give us a better understanding of our mundane, everyday moral phenomena," said Dr Sliwa.
"There are a lot more puzzles to think about in relation with excuses: what's the difference between explaining someone's bad behaviour and excusing it?"