Causation, Norm Violation, and Culpable Control

Causation, Norm Violation and Culpable ControlHuman brains do spectacular things: They solve complex logical puzzles, compose symphonic masterpieces, conceive technological marvels, and create enduring artworks, for starters.But before they can embark on these prodigies, human brains must achieve something that they share in common with all brains-they must evaluate and differentiate which creatures, objects, and conditions will facilitate their prospects and well-being, and which will do them harm.Evaluation is the most fundamental component of human judgment 1 and one of the most important cognitive capacities for survival.Virtually all meaningful human actions are automatically evaluated. 2These evaluative reactions intrude on the judgments and attributions that people make about their own and others' behavior.So, when people make focal judgments about the components of a human act, such as whether it caused a particular outcome, whether the outcome was foreseen or foreseeable, whether the action was intentional or involuntary, and whether incapacities or situational constraints excuse or mitigate it, they are influenced by their peripheral evaluative reactions to the actor, the actor's behavior, or the outcomes that ensue. 3 As a result, when people are asked to identify, for example, the primary cause of an event, they accord privileged status to actions that arouse positive or negative evaluations.In this way, causal attributions reflect a desire to praise or denigrate those whose actions we applaud or deride.