Free will and moral responsibility Flashcards
1
Q
Why is free will relevant to moral wrong-doing
A
For ethics, it is important to consider two features in order to judge an action morally
1. That the person acted out of Free Will
2. That the person understood the difference between right and wrong
2
Q
What are the sources of moral awareness, telling right from wrong?
(3)
A
- Hume believes in a ‘moral sense’, a kind of innate sympathy
- Annother approach is that we learn right and wrong from social context
- Religion provides a third level of moral principles
3
Q
Free Will and Hard Determinism
(4)
A
- Epicurus - although science points to Determinism, personal experience points to free will
- Hard determinism assumes universal causation, free will is an illusion caused in the brain
- HD supported by reductionsim (thoughts are just electrical impulses in the brain)
- The feeling that we are free is merely an illusion causes by our ignorance of the causes acting on us
4
Q
HD1: Scientific Determinism
(3)
A
- All the physical processes in the universe operate in a sequence of causes from the Big Bang
- SD suggests that all actions are part of this causal sequence, caused by prior events
- Therefore there is no free will as everything is inevitable due to the causal sequence
5
Q
Can we avoid Scientific Determinism?
(3)
A
- Yes, if the laws of nature are probabilistic or if the quantum world is indeterminate
- Yes if interdeterminacy is located in quantum states of the mind
- We simply do not know
6
Q
HD2: Psychological Determinism
(5)
A
- Mainly associated with B.F. Skinner’s Psychological Behaviourism
- All behaviour is the result of genetic and environmental conditions
- All human actions are conditioned by the consequences of previous decisions
- We seek to avoid bad and repeat good consequences
- There are no intentions or purposes, there is no free will
7
Q
Evaluate Skinner’s Psychological Determinism
(2)
A
- Noam Chomsky - Skinner’s application of lab experiments to human behaviour is superficial
- If human behaviour is a set of conditioned responses, Skinner’s theory is also one, why should we listen to it?
8
Q
HD3: Theological Determinism
(4)
A
- Rooted in Christian ideas of God’s omniscience and predestination
- If God knows what person X will do, then person X cannot avoid doing it, so determinism must be true and free will is an illusion
- Possible responses include: Aquinas’ view that God sees our future free choices but timelessly, so does not cause them.
- Or: if God is in time then temporal God does not know the future so free will is Preserved. (process theology)
9
Q
Free Will and Libertarianism
(5)
A
- The view that all forms of determinism are fales and we are free moral agents
- Most are mind body dualists, following Descartes’ view that the mind is a separate substance
- Some libertarians argue that there are two kinds of events, caused and free.
- Modern libertarians accept that deterministic processes impact humans, meaning that human decisions are influenced, this does not mean that these decisions are determined
- Common argument is that guilt demonstrates a sense of moral responsibility, and an experience of free choice
- Libertarianism looks forwards whereas determinism looks back at past causes
- Libertarians emphasise the reason for actions rather than the cause
10
Q
Evaluating Libertarianism and Moral Responsibility
(5)
A
- Assumptions of Libertarianism (L) are no more provable than Determinism (D)
- D argue there is physical evidence for HD, L argue that the mind is not a physical system
- L argue that humans feel free, HD claims this is not the case, it is an illusion
- L argument against Skinner: those who insist on D are just making a determined statement
- L leads to a positive approach to moral decision making as the outcome is not predetermined and so they are deliberating about achieveable moral goals
11
Q
Free Will and Compatibilism
(8)
A
- Determinism (D) and Libertarianism (L) are compatible
- Classic account is from Hume
- Free Will and D are considered incompatible because terms have been poorly defined
- By liberty we mean ‘a power of acting or not acting, according to the will’
- Humans demonstrate such regularity that if they do something out of character it is noticeable
- In the natural world, we infer that one thing follows another, human affairs are the same. This is not predetermined, human actions are interlinked or human life would be unlivable
- Freedom requires D because if our wishes were random, the order of human life would be lost
- Desires flow from personality and personality is decided by societal causes
- Non freedom for the compatiblist is being unable to do what they desire, through physical or coercive methods
12
Q
Evaluate Hume’s Compatibilism.
(4)
A
- If Hume’s definitions of liberty and necessity are right then he seems to be correct
- For 21st Century hard determinists, Hume’s idea of neccessity and causation isn’t strong enough. For them, his wishes are the product of absolute causal forces
- For libertarians, Hume avoids reason, the thing that allows us to make real moral choices, Hume’s reason seems indistinguishable from the powers of nature
- Everything is watered down
13
Q
What are the two approaches to Crime and Punishment?
A
Approaches to crime fall under two categories
- Crime is a mental condition which can be treated with rehabilitation. The perpetrator may have experiences which have lead to this action
- Crime is deliberately anti-social behaviour and should be punished. Reform is costly and ineffective, the priority should be to protect society and punish the guilty.
14
Q
Hard Determinism and Crime
(4)
A
- Determinism denies the freedom required for moral responsibility so punishment is inappropriate
- D makes the idea of sin redundant
- Psychological behaviourism argues for a version of punishment as a method of social conditioning. In a perfect world crims should disappear as the real blame for social deviance is the environment
- However, this is contradictory to determinism as deliberate social engineering should not be possible
15
Q
Libertarianism and Crime
(5)
A
- Holds people responsible for their actions so praise and blame are part of the strategy for encouraging moral responsibility
- L accepts that children and others have varying degrees of responsibility, everyone else is assumed to be free
- Kant’s dictum of ‘ought implies can’ is a strong indication that we do have this kind of freedom
- Kant claims that punishment should be to reverse the maxim that a criminal attempts to universalise. Theives should have their belongings taken, murderers should be killed
- Retribution is the only way moral responsibility can be enforced
