The Impossibility Of Moral Responsibility

Determinism is the idea that the future already has a set plan. That anything we say, do, act, and how we even look is already decided for us and tends to limit our free will. Indeterminism comes with the idea that we are responsible for what we do because things tend to happen by chance not by cause. We have free will to decide. Strawson believes that both these concepts can prove that moral responsibility is impossible. I disagree with Strawson. I feel that in order for Strawson’s argument to be valid, it must rely on determinism only.

For example, Strawson believes true moral responsibility is when someone is completely responsible for their actions. Through the story of heaven and hell, he reveals the idea that true moral responsibility is when it would be just to punish someone to eternal torment in hell and reward others with eternal bliss in heaven. However, he states that no one is completely responsible for their actions because they aren’t the cause of themselves; since one didn’t bring themselves into being, and isn’t responsible for the way they are (at least in certain mental aspects). For instance, for one to choose to be the way one is, they would’ve had to exist already and be in possession of the principle of choice; however, since there is no completion of the limitless succession of choices of principles of choice, then there is no self-determinism. Overall, considering the Basic Argument states that nothing can be the cause of itself (causa sui), and true moral responsibility is dependent on causa sui, then there can’t be true moral

In this essay I will analyze Galen Strawson’s Basic Argument. I will first outline his main premise of the Basic Argument and then I will examine one of his criticisms. Specifically, I will be looking into his third premise, “But you can’t be ultimately responsible for the way you are in any respect at all”. I am defending Strawson’s argument that you are indeed not responsible for your actions. I will be focusing on genetics and upbringing’s in order to support Strawson’s reasoning. Due to the genetics individuals inherit and the environment they are brought up in, it is difficult to go against Strawson as he provides valid evidence that supports his argument that you cannot be ultimately responsible for your actions.

Kennan breaks moral responsibility down to two entities: government and individual. He argues, “Government is an agent, not a principal. Its primary obligation is to the interests of the national society it represents, not to the moral impulses that individual elements of that society may experience” (Kennan, 34). Kennan also argues that morality is only conceptually possible

He believes that people cannot be morally responsible for their actions, and the only reason that many people believe they can is because free will is an illusion. Strawson utilises the “basic argument” to help prove his point. The “Basic Argument” is (1) Nothing can be the cause of itself, (2) In order to be morally responsible for one’s action, one would have to have caused one’s self (at least the mental qualities), and (3) Therefore no one can be truly morally responsible. To be morally responsible for an action means one can receive a particular form of reaction; praise and blame are some of the most obvious forms of reactions for being morally responsible. A choice of one’s nature must be based on intentions that come from one’s previous nature. Strawson applies the example of heaven and hell to dramatically characterize the notion of ultimate responsibility for easier understanding. The failure to find causes for something to have occurred doesn’t establish that there aren’t any. This means that determinism could never be conclusively refuted. Even with the quantum theory, people still believe that underlying deterministic causes will eventually be

When thinking about morality, it is necessary to consider how aspects from both nature and nurture, along with free will, may form ones moral beliefs and dictate ones moral actions. To understand how moral beliefs as well as actions formulate and operate within individuals and societies, it is imperative that a general definition of morality is laid out. Morality, then, can be defined as ones principles regarding what is right and wrong, good or bad. Although an individual may hold moral beliefs, it is not always the case that moral actions follow. Therefore, in this essay I aim to provide an explanation that clarifies the two and in doing so I also hope to further the notion that one’s moral framework is a product of all three factors; nature, nurture, and free will. The first part of this essay will flush out what exactly morality it and how it manifests similarly across individuals and differently across individuals. Contrariwise, I will then explain how morality manifests similarly across societies and differently across societies. Alongside presenting the information in this order, I will trace morality back to primordial times to showcase how morality has evolved and developed since then, not only from a nature-based standpoint, but also from a

Thus the former is morally culpable for the actions of the latter by virtue of being the cause of the action. Opponents of consequentialism argue that negative responsibility, and the consequentialist doctrine as a whole, is unacceptable because it reduces an agent to merely “a locus of causal intervention in the world.” Instead of being people, agents are no more than origin points of cause and effect, and their integrity is forfeit as a result. Although Williams dedicates a significant portion of his paper to illustrating the problem of integrity, he offers no defense against it. In fact, he acknowledges that life-defining projects and integrity exist, agrees that it is absurd to expect an agent to discard them in order to be moral, and then departs from the problem of integrity without further discussion.

Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility talks about the principle of alternate possibilities. The principle of alternate possibilities states that someone is morally responsible if they could have chosen to do otherwise. People who believe in free will are very supportive of the principle Free will is the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one’s own discretion. The principle of alternate possibilities, moral responsibility, and free will are all involved in this paper written by Harry Frankfurt. Frankfurt states that “its exact meaning is a subject of controversy, particularly concerning whether someone who accepts it is thereby committed to believing that moral responsibility and determinism

The theory of moral responsibility by Aristotle will be used as a foundation to analysis the moral responsibility on dream. The theory is used because Aristotle is the earliest philosopher who discuss about moral responsibility in Nicomachean Ethic. Aristotle concept of moral responsibility is focus on “the role of knowledge in taking the proper course of action” (Hsieh). According to Aristotle, moral responsibility is the notion that “it is sometimes appropriate to respond to an agent with praise or blame on the basis of her actions and/or dispositional traits of character” (Eshleman). This concept similar to Plato’s ideas that “the issue of moral responsibility primarily arises as a result of the investigations into the connection between knowledge, desire, and right action; his discussions generally center around whether those who desire evil do so knowingly or due to ignorance or error” (Hsieh). However, the notion of moral responsibility by Aristotle is more complex and details.

I assert that for a moral system to be necessary and applicable, there must exist a moral agent who possesses both the desire and the ability to choose. By denoting certain actions or ways of being as better, a moral system implies that there are also other potential actions and ways of being that are worse. The individual must choose between them. Without this element of choice, an action has no moral qualification. For example, a computer acts, but it does not choose its action. Consequently, while a computer can be judged better or worse in its ability to carry out an action, it cannot be judged responsible for the action. Rather, the person who uses or creates the computer is in fact responsible, for it is that person who chooses for it to act in a particular way. In a moral system, choice, responsibility, and the viability of judgment are linked inextricably.

Morality is a set of principles that individuals use to distinguish between right and wrong, good and bad actions. Being the code by which we live our lives, morality is a concept that leaks into almost every aspect of human life. For example, even a mundane activity like eating a sandwich for lunch can have moral implications. Consider this question, was the turkey that ended up on the sandwich raised in horrific factory farm conditions and subjected to torturous treatment? That is a question with heavy moral implications. Distinguishing right action from wrong is a crucial skill for humans to have, but is morality the only thing that truly matters about a person. Susan Wolf, an esteemed philosopher, thinks it is not. Wolf argues that morality is just one of many aspects and values of a person. In other words, people are more than just moral beings and we should be happy that this is the case. This paper will provide a brief look at Susan Wolf’s argument as well as my argument for why her contention is the correct one.

Are we Morally responsible? Can we be held accountable for what we do? In “ Peter Van Inwagen: The moral argument for freedom”, Inwagen explains his view on moral accountability. He strongly believes that we have moral freedom and have the ability to choose from right and wrong. Many Philosophers believed otherwise. Although it’s arguable, the most competent human being has the ability to judge their action before doing so and are aware of the outcomes. Whether you’re hurting someone or intentionally trying to destroy something. With the exception of those who are mentally disable, everyone has the ability to make such decision. Inwagen stated “... It is impossible for us to cease talking in ways that manifest a belief in moral

This chapter, which is the subject of our study is the first book The principle of responsibility: ethics test for technological civilization, and is titled, "The changed character of human action."

Samuel Pufendorf argues that morality is the product of God 's will primarily, and human will secondly, and is directed at the peaceful organization of humanity. “Moral entitities” are metaphysically superadded to physical entitites, so they are dependent on intelligent beings. Moral obligation, then, is grounded in the command of a superior (human or divine), and commands are morally compelling due to the dual factors of fear and respect for the “just” reasons behind them. Gottfried Leibniz, in contrast, grounds morality in God 's intellect. He offers two major objections to Pufendorf: first, that he threatens the goodness of God by failing to make justice an attribute he possesses, and, second, that his argument that justice consists in obeying a superior 's command is circular since a superior has authority in virtue of their “just” cause. This paper will first detail Pufendorf 's position on moral entitities, the nature of obligation, and moral necessity. Leibniz 's criticisms will then be expounded, and it will be argued that Pufendorf holds intellectualist commitments complicating the voluntarist aspects of his philosophy.

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