Self-blame is an integral part of our lives. We often blame ourselves for our failings and experience familiar unpleasant emotions such as guilt, shame, regret, or remorse. Self-blame is also what we often aim for when we blame others: we want the people we blame to recognize their wrongdoing and blame themselves for it. Moreover, self-blame is typically considered a necessary condition for forgiveness. However, until now, self-blame has not been an integral part of the theoretical debate on moral responsibility. This volume presents twelve new essays by leading moral philosophers, who set out bold new theories of the nature and ethics of self-blame, and the interconnection between self-blame and moral responsibility. The essays cast new light on traditional problems in the debate on moral responsibility and open new, exciting avenues for research in moral philosophy, moral psychology and the philosophy of punishment.

Part I. The Nature of Self-Blame: 1. The motivational theory of guilt (and its implications for responsibility) Justin D'Arms and Daniel Jacobson
2. The trials and tribulations of Tom Brady: self-blame, self-talk, self-flagellation David Shoemaker
3. A comprehensive account of blame: self-blame, non-moral blame, and blame for the non-voluntary Douglas W. Portmore
4. A forward-looking account of self-blame Derk Pereboom
Part II. The Ethics of Self-Blame: 5. How much to blame?: an asymmetry between the norms of self-blame and other-blame Dana Kay Nelkin
6. Don't suffer in silence: a self-help guide for self-blame Hannah Tierney
7. How should we feel about recalcitrant emotions? Krista K. Thomason
Part III. Self-Blame and Moral Responsibility: 8. Guilt & self-blame within a conversational theory of moral responsibility Michael McKenna
9. Deserved guilt and blameworthiness over time Andreas Brekke Carlsson
10. Blame, deserved guilt, and harms to standing Gunnar Björnsson
11. Reason to feel guilty Randolph Clarke and Piers Rawling.

Subject Areas: Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ], Philosophy [HP]