FREE WILL AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY: The Extent Of Moral Responsibility Flashcards
Who was epicurus?
Greek philosopher
What was epicurus’s view on moral responsibility?
Observation and science tend towards determinism:
We have no control over the forces of nature; we are entirely determined by forces and circumstances outside ourselves and beyond our control
Personal and moral experience tend towards free will:
Maximise happiness by living simply and peacefully
What is determinism?
We are not free. We are determined by antecedent physical causes
The sense of freedom is an illusion brought about by the fact our brains are so complex
The mind is subject to causal laws
What does a hard determinist think about freedom?
Freedom is an illusion
This ‘feeling of freedom’ is merely ignorance
Therefore we are not logically justified in claiming responsibility for our actions
What is reductionism?
To understand a complex entity one should analyse it to the smallest component parts of which it is made
Therefore our actions are the result of chemical and electrical activity
Who was Spinoza?
Dutch philosopher
Determinist
What did Spinoza consider about freedom?
Everything is determined by physical causes
We merely consider ourselves free because we are ignorant of all the causes operating upon us
What does scientific determinism hold?
All events are determined by antecedent events and states of affairs
No freedom of the will
What does the WMAP image of the universe show us?
There is a complete sequence of cause and effect
An omnipotent mind would be aware of every part of that sequence and could reverse the process back to the Big Bang
Physics governs everything
Quote from French physicist Laplace
We ought ‘to regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its anterior state and as the cause of the one which is to follow’
Scientific determinism can be avoided if…
the laws of nature are probabilistic
Science produces theories for what has been observed experimentally
Therefore it is almost certain that our scientific theories are wrong- newer theories replace older ones
Scientific laws can only claim a degree of probability
Scientific determinism might be avoided if…
the quantum world is indeterminate
It may be shown that there are entities that are not completely governed by the laws of nature
The laws governing the quantum world are indeterministic and probabilistic
Many worlds interpretation is deterministic
Who is B. F. Skinner?
American psychologist and behaviourist
What is skinner’s psychological behaviourism?
All behaviour is a product of genetic and environmental conditions
If an action has good consequences then the brain becomes disposed to repeat it
What is Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov’s experiment in behavioural psychology?
Pavlovs dogs
Culminated in the idea of classical conditioning
What is determinism according to skinner?
‘Complete’
Who is Noam Chomsky?
American philosopher and cognitive scientist
What is Chomsky’s criticism of skinner?
His proposals are an example of futile behaviourist speculation and assumption
General criticisms of skinner
His application of the principles of animal behaviour to the more complex human behaviour is unsound
If human behaviour is a set of conditioned responses determined by genetics and the environment, his own behavioural thesis is an example of a conditioned response so why should we listen to it?
What is theological determinism?
A view of hard determinism that is rooted in the Christian idea that God is omniscient
Led Calvin and Augustine to the doctrine of predestination
God’s foreknowledge must be causal because if God knows you’ll do x in the future you can’t avoid doing x
All events in the universe are determined by God’s omniscience
Evaluating theological determinism
A timeless God
Aquinas views God as existing timelessly- God sees history timelessly
God’s omniscience means he sees the results of our future free choices but doesn’t cause them
God has the power to intervene and control but does not
Evaluating theological determinism
A temporal God
God exists in time; can’t see the future
In the physical universe, the future hasn’t happened yet. A temporal God wouldn’t know the future
Who is Libet?
American neuroscientist
What did Libet’s experiments show?
The will is the result of determined electrical brain processes
How does Libet deny the brain as determined?
He argued that the brain can veto pre conscious intentions and that the veto appears to be freely chosen
What is libertarianism?
We are free moral agents
Human behaviour is not determined by external causes
Forward looking- concerned with the future whereas determinism looks at prior causes that determine an event
What is compatibilism?
Determinism is compatible with our experience of freedom and moral responsibility
An action is free if the agent could have done otherwise
What do libertarians thing about decision making?
All our experience of decision making and following moral principles suggests we are free as we can choose what to do
We have a sense of moral responsibility
So libertarians accept limitations on human behaviour?
Yes because complete freedom would lead to paralysis
There exist physical, psychological and social limitations
The paralysis of complete freedom
Complete freedom would be like being set down in the middle of a featureless, flat landscape and trying to decide where to go
The actual experience of freedom requires limitations in order to make sense
Arguments in favour of libertarianism
Most of us assume we are free
Those who claim we are determined are merely making a determined statement so why should we pay attention to it?
Hume on compatibilism
We have a liberty of spontaneity (doing what you desire) rather than liberty of indifference (freedom from necessity)
The kind of necessity required by causal determinism isn’t logical necessity. Laws or nature don’t have this kind of necessity; what we see in nature is constant conjunction (events happen close together) but this kind of conjunction isn’t logically necessary
Constant conjunction is in human nature- human actions stem from human choices. Freedom requires determinism because our wishes and desires aren’t random
Oliver McAdoo definition of the liberty of spontaneity
Doing what I desire rather than choosing what I desire
Weaknesses of Hume
Wishes and desires are determined
Human reason becomes redundant- everything is watered down to constant conjunction
Weakness of determinism
The discussion of determinism must be determined
Weakness of libertarianism
There is no convincing answer as to how the brain can act freely
