Free Will : The Concept Of Moral Responsibility

In this paper I will present an argument against free will and then I will defend a response to that argument. Free will is defined as having the ability to make our own choices. Some will argue that all of our decisions have already been dictated by our desires therefore we never actually truly make our own choices. The purpose of this paper is to defend the argument that we have free will by attacking the premise that states we have no control over what we desire. I will defeat this premise by showing how one does have control over his/her desires through the idea of self-control. I will then defend my argument against likely rebuttals that state that there is still no way to control our desires proving that we do have free will.

While it may just seem like semantics, free will and freedom differ. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines free will as a “voluntary choice or decision” or “freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention” (Free 1). Free will includes the ability to make simple, everyday choices. The definition of freedom differs from that of free will: “liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another” and “the absence of necessity, coercion or constraint in a choice or action” (Freedom 1). Someone with freedom can say, do, act, and feel however he wishes without the threat of outside forces.

At the same time, the Libertarians believe that people have “free will”, and there are no such inevitable results of those behaviors that are controlled by “free will”. Libertarianism has different meanings in different academic fields. From the general level, the libertarianism refers to people’s ability to decide whether or not to do something according to their

Libertarians support the view that people have free will and so we are free to make moral decisions. For a Libertarian, the key evidence for this is the act of decision making in our daily lives. Hume states that “experience is what we see to be true”, each human being experiences the feeling of being free to make a decision. If experiencing any other action constitutes it to be true, then why not the same for free will? Libertarians argue that we have awareness of the choices we make; we can choose to do anything that we are capable of. Though we are influenced by our environment and experiences, ultimately we can make our own decisions, nothing is

The problem with the belief that people are morally responsible, for what they do and act, revolves around humans not actually having free will because their actions are already determined. When people make decisions or perform actions, they usually feel as if they are choosing freely. The decisions people make are the direct results of their desires; past experiences; personality; psychological traits; and needs and wants. Determinism is the view that if an event has happened, given the previous state of the universe and the laws of nature, then it is impossible that it could not have occurred (304). Libertarianism is the belief that the universe is not determined and that humans possess free will. Kane, the supporter of libertarianism, claimed

The theory that I find true to the true nature of moral responsibility and its relation to human freedom and determinism would be compatibilism. Compatibilism is the claim that we are both determined and that we have moral responsibility (Lawhead 120).

Over the years, both philosophers and average people alike have contemplated the concept of free will. Usually, people would not contemplate free will. The common man usually just makes choices and does not wonder if this choice is truly a free one. Like many principles, the question of free will is not answered in consensus. This leads to the question “what are humans able to do?” Van Iwagen discusses free will in his essay The Powers of Rational Beings. He states that free will and determinism brings about a mystery.

Free Will is the capacity of acting without the pressures of fate and the ability to act because of one’s discretion. It is an idea that most believe in, because it means that you are in control

Libertarians believe that we are free and are morally responsible for our actions. They believe that the inanimate world is mechanical and is therefore caused and predictable but reject the idea that this extends to humans. Libertarians hold that we are not compelled to act by forces outside our moral consciousness; moral actions instead come from the character and values of the agent. There are factors which may influence someone to act in one way but it is not certain that they will. C.A. Campbell’s notion of freedom states that when you are acting freely, the future is genuinely open to you and you can actually choose one way or another, even with given nature and nurture. Libertarians do not argue for absolute freedom but significant freedom-that it is a

We have the appearance of free will. We can only do so much up to a certain point. They are predetermined events that take place in our lives. These events act as tunnels that lead us to our path in life. These events shape our personalities and change the way we think as we move forward in life. We are governed by a set of rules, moral and spiritual. Free will can only be reached once freedom is achieved. Freedom can only be achieved once responsibility no longer exists. Thus free will can never exist which makes the Libertarianism argument invalid.

Libertarianism is one of response to determinism. Libertarianism completely opposes the idea of Determinism. Libertarianism argues that determinism is wrong. Humans are free from anything, and they have the right to choose; however, they are responsible for their decision. Humans are special creature because they have free will. We humans are free from anything and our choice and our decision is based on our interest and nothing forces us to do something. Every human is responsible for their action. Libertarianism believes that if humans are free and responsible, then there is a free will; therefore, the philosophy of determinism is completely false.

Moral responsibility is a concept that has, in some way, existed in every culture and civilization that recorded history can tell us about. From the Law of Hammurabi to beliefs in judgmental gods mankind has always assumed some form of moral responsibility—whether metaphysical or within a society. While pragmatic considerations of moral responsibility seem to be necessary for living within a society, the philosophic concept of moral responsibility beckons many inherent problems that must be resolved. Galen Strawson in “The Impossibility of Moral Responsibility” presents a strong argument as to why moral responsibility is impossible, while Susan Wolf responds to the problems presented, and argues that moral responsibility does exist in some

As humans, free will is something we commonly assume we have. When evaluating what free will is, we become less certain. David Hume calls it “the most contentious question of metaphysics.” In simplistic terms, free will is having the ability to determine your own plan of action. There is a relationship between free will and freedom of action and causal determinism that must be evaluated to have a complete understanding of free will. There are compatibilist views that believe in free will and incompatibilist views that imply there is no free will. Free will is also related to both theological determinism and logical determinism.

What does it mean to have free will? To have free will means that you have control of a certain power and that no one would judge you by the decisions and actions you make. This is because there is literally no wrong answer, you do what is right and just. All that matters is that individuals are responsible for the choices they make to benefit their own well being.

Libertarian view on freedom is that choices are free from any persistence or pressure from human nature and free from any intentions by God. Libertarian is important to any moral responsibility. If choices were determined or created by anything, like for example someone’s desires, then it can’t be called a free choice. Libertarian is the freedom that acts on one’s nature, susceptibility, and considerable desires. The Libertarian viewer have an idea, that God make men act in a certain way, and the man has free will in acting in that way. God does put a limit on the actions that they can do, but not on their mind or their will. Some objections that come up is causality, responsibility, and God’s freedom.