Toward a Theory of Offense: Should You Feel Offended?

Abstract The feeling of being offended, as a moral emotion, plays key role in issues such slurs, the offense principle, ethics humor, etc. However, no adequate theory has been developed literature, and it remains unclear what questions should answer. This paper attempts to fill gap by performing two tasks. first task is clarify summarize into kinds, descriptive (e.g., features differentiate from similar states like anger?) normative are conditions for taking be apt?). second answer these developing I call ‘the violated norm offense’. According this theory, offended entails that one endorses judged offender. Appealing enables differs anger because not requiring victims difficulty animal offense) apt only if universalizable).