Moral Philosophy as a Guide for Societal Issues

Reviews the book, Free will and responsibility: A guide for practitioners by John S. Callender (see record 2010-13572-000). Psychologists may find Free will and responsibility: A guide for practitioners a well-written, accessible volume, useful for varied purposes, especially for contrasting or expanding one’s own moral reasoning. But before we discuss the contents, we want to alert readers that the subtitle is oddly misleading. In that author John Callender is a psychiatrist, “A Guide for Practitioners” implies that the book will present philosophically grounded concrete suggestions for clinical practice. It rarely does that. Some case material is mentioned, but it is intended primarily to illustrate philosophical issues. There are, however, many suggestions concerning social policy, especially in regard to criminal justice. In effect, the “practitioners” referred to in the subtitle are persons who practice reflective responsibility for societal well-being as well as for promoting patients’ autonomy. Suggestions flow reasonably from the philosophical reviews but are familiar to most practicing and teaching psychologists, at least in the United States. In sum, this is an interesting and well-researched book. We believe that many sections of the text might be useful for undergraduate or graduate forensic classes in psychology, law and psychology, criminal justice, or criminal policy. They may also be of interest to other professionals involved with the legal system such as lawyers, judges, policy makers, and social workers. Forensic psychologists might refer attorneys to various sections of the book. The second half of the book might be particularly suitable for persons interested in or working in mental health and forensic fields. Such readers may want to read the second half of the book first and then look back for relevant sections on philosophy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)