Original Sin, Collective Responsibility, and Complicity in Wrongdoing

Abstract

Many reject the Augustinian doctrine of original sin on the grounds that it is not fair that all of us should be subject to penalty for no other reason than that the earliest human beings sinned. In this essay, I put forward an interpretation of this doctrine that largely removes the stigma of perceived unfairness. Doing so requires an investigation into two areas of ethical theory, collective responsibility and complicity in wrongdoing.