The Hunger Strike as a Communicative Act

Intention without Responsibility

Bibliographic Data

ID2476547
AuthorsL Wee (0000-0002-2176-7951, National University of Singapore, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume17
Issue1
Pages61-76
Publication date2007-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Linguistic Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1055-1360 • E-ISSN: 1548-1395
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1525/jlin.2007.17.1.61
OpenAlexW2035218592
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited29

Judgments of actor responsibility usually depend on attributions of actor intentions. In some circumstances, though, actor intention or even both intention and responsibility may be considered irrelevant. This raises the question of whether it is possible for an intentional actor to not be held responsible for the consequences of his or her act. This article claims that the hunger strike represents just such a possibility, mainly because (i) the actor is presented as having no choice, (ii) the stance of commentators (especially the media) is influential in shaping attributions of intentionality, and (iii) a significant time interval exists between the initiation of the strike and its effects

Attribution · Collective responsibility · Epistemology · Intentionality · Moral responsibility · Political science · Sociology · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Law · Law in Society and Culture · Philosophy · Psychology · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access