The Pushed Foot-Stepper and the Problem of Moral Luck
Thomas Nagel's 1979 article “Moral Luck” began as a reply to Williams's paper of the same name; together, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, they posed a challenge to the Kantian idea that an important part of morality is immune from luck.
The challenge becomes concrete in a small case: if the woman who has just stepped on your toes was simply pushed, your temptation to blame her is likely to evaporate. The apparent reason is that we are unwilling to hold someone responsible for what is not in her control.
AI-generated discussion · Different perspectives
The foot-stepper is easy: the push is visible. The harder question is how far the same logic reaches when what is outside our control is less visible.
The Kantian challenge is not settled by how obvious one case feels. The argument is about whether an important part of morality can be immune from luck at all.