The ethics of corporate belief

I argue for a deflationary account of corporate belief on which their attribution is grounded in the official and intentional actions of the corporation’s operative members. I outline an ethics of individual belief focusing on responsibility for belief formation in contexts in which beliefs guide actions that may bring about harm. In light of the deflationary account of corporate attitudes, I consider how to project the account to the corporate case. I argue that the division of role responsibilities, especially proxy roles, in organizations induces a division of moral labor. On this basis, I introduce a framework for identifying roles that, relative to particular actions, are responsibility magnets and responsibility shelters for institutional role players. I identify epistemic and oversight roles as responsibility magnets for corporate belief.