The Side Effect There are side effects to almost every action people take. Getting rid of insects in a home can harm the environment and even poison pets. Studying for a test can lead to lack of sleep and ultimately poorer health. Throwing away the remains of an unfinished plate means eliminating what could have been valuable nutrients for starving children in Africa. How one determines the intentionality of an action is a controversial topic for many. Joshua Knobe conducted experiments to explain the proper analysis of intentional action, while Uttich and Lombrozo conducted experiments exploring the relationship between norms and attributions of mental states in terms of intentional actions. This article will review the results of one of Knobe's studies, explain the side effect from the perspective of Uttich and Lombrozo, and propose an alternative explanation for the side effect. Knobe's first experiment tested whether judgments of intentionality were influenced by whether the side effect of an action was good or bad. His experiment consisted of subjects reading about a person, president of a company, who wanted to launch a new program aimed at increasing profits. Some subjects were given a scenario in which this new program would harm the environment, while others were shown how this program would help the environment. In both cases, the president did not care about the side effects; the goal of this new program was to make more money. Subjects were then asked to determine the extent to which the person should receive blame or praise for harming or helping the environment. The results of this experiment showed that the majority of subjects believed that the person intended...... middle of paper ...... effect. People should be held responsible for the harmful side effects caused, especially since they are considered intentional. Additionally, when legal issues are at stake, jurors must take into account that people will try to avoid harmful side effects. If harmful side effects occur, jurors must presume they were intentional unless there is strong evidence to the contrary. In other words, jurors must assume that these side effects were caused intentionally, with the person performing the action being fully aware of the risks involved.ReferencesKnobe, Joshua. “Intentional Action and Side Effects in Ordinary Language.” Oxford Journals 63.3 (2003): 190-94. JStor. Oxford University Press. Uttich, Kevin and Tania Lombrozo. “Norms Inform Mental State Attributions: A Rational Explanation of Side Effect.” Cognition 116 (2010): 87-100. Elsevier.