P1 - Free Will And Moral Responsibility

Question 1

What is free will

Answer 1

The capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action
To be morally responsible, people must act through their own free will

Question 2

Machines and free will

Answer 2

They are incapable of independent thought, so cannot be blamed for whatever they do
Dependent on those who programme or drive them, if something goes wrong, blame lies with the conscious agents, not the unconscious machine

Question 3

Non-human animals and free will

Answer 3

They are also incapable of independent thought
E.g. if a lion kills a little animal for food, the lion is not morally responsible for the death agony of the little animal

Question 4

How does free will hold moral responsibility

Answer 4

Need a free human agent
There are some situations where even if a person believes they are free to choose what to do – their upbringing, psychological makeup, genetics might suggest that they actually have no control over their actions

Question 5

What moral state does the human agent need to be to hold moral responsibility

Answer 5

Needs to be conscious and capable of making the decision

Question 6

Humans that do not meet the requirement of understanding the difference between right and wrong

Answer 6

Babies and young children and those with severe learning difficulties: not regarded as being able to take legal or moral responsibility for their actions

Those suffering from dementia or other serious mental illnesses: not able to distinguish right and wrong, or to understand the significance of their actions

Under extreme pressure: could be argued that people are no longer able to think normally, therefore may take actions that they know to be wrong

Question 7

Sources of moral awareness - innate sense

Answer 7

Some will argue that we all have an innate moral sense of right and wrong
E.g. we generally feel it is right to go to the aid of someone in need or distress
David Hume’s approach to morality – we have a built-in ‘moral sense’

Question 8

Sources of moral awareness - social context

Answer 8

We learn about right and wrong from our social context
We learn them from our parents and others in society as we grow up, this forms the basis of our social life, this means that morality may be linked to particular cultural and social traditions
Questions of right and wrong can be culturally conditioned, therefore vary from society to society and over time

Question 9

Sources of moral awareness - religious morality

Answer 9

Each religion presents its followers with fundamental moral principles, sets of practical moral rules which serve to define the way of life for that particular religious group
Some traditions tend to define social practices in a way that religion ‘embodies’ its own culture in terms of food, dress and day-to-day behaviour, while others tend to present moral principles that are adaptable to a variety of cultures

Question 10

What is determinism

Answer 10

The view that all events and states of affairs including all human decisions and actions are the necessary consequence of previous states of affairs

Question 11

What is causal determinism

Answer 11

Often what determinism is identified as
When the laws of cause and effect in physics suggest that there is a complete chain of event which causes one an other going back to the big bang

Question 12

What is hard determinism

Answer 12

The view that determinism is real - no one has free will

Question 13

Epicurus’ approach on determinism

Answer 13

Views that the world consisted entirely of atoms within a void; merely physical - therefore any event was theoretically predicable given its circumstances and the natural forces involved
Meanest hat we have no forces over nature nor can we determine situations, no freedom

However, Epicurus did not like this (wanted to maximise happiness in life), therefore tried to modify his physics to make free will possible

Question 14

What are the fundamental views regarding the extent of moral responsibility

Answer 14

Hard determinism - we are not free, fully determined by causal factors

Libertarianism - we are free

Question 15

The extent of moral responsibility - hard determinism

Answer 15

Science works on the assumption that the world operates regularly and is theoretically predictable - so all events have causes that are theoretically knowable

Hard determinism therefore governs ethical choices - ethical choices do not exist, our moral decisions are determined as events in the brain

Question 16

Do we have free will - hard determinism

Answer 16

We may think we have free will, but it is an illusion created by the human brain

Hard determinists may argue that since freedom is an illusion, we are not logically justified in claiming responsibility for our actions, even if we felt that we had freely chose them

Question 17

What is reductionism

Answer 17

An approach that reduces a complex entity to the smallest component parts of which it is made to understand it
E.g. human behaviour is reduced to biology, which is then reduced to chemistry, then reduced to physics

Question 18

How does reductionism support determinism

Answer 18

If human behaviour can be reduced to physics, than our actions are just the result of chemical and electrical activity, this means that the complex whole is determined by these scientific laws

Question 19

Spinoza’s approach to hard determinism

Answer 19

Everything in the world is totally determined by physical causes, therefore there is no scope for human freedom

You think you are making a completely free choice, but that simply reflects your ignorance of the causes operating on you all the time

The experience of freedom is an illusion generated by our ignorance of the totality of causes acting upon us

Question 20

What is scientific determinism

Answer 20

A form of hard determinism which holds that all events, including human actions and choices are determined by the antecedent events and states of affairs, so there can be no freedom of will

Question 21

Evidence used to support scientific determinism

Answer 21

Time appears to be able to work backwards in time as well as forwards (as seen through scientific evidence of the Big Bang and the start of the universe) - this is a complete sequence of cause and effect, every event in the universe is determined by physics, the future too - supporting the scientific determinist view that everything is caused

Question 22

Scientific determinism and omnipotence

Answer 22

An omnipotent mind would be aware of every minute of the sequence of cause and effect
They could also reverse the process back to the Big Bang

Question 23

Scientific determinism and the brain

Answer 23

The brain can also be analysed as a physical system and thoughts appear to be electrical impulses in the brain
Human beings can also be analysed by sciences like anthropology, sociology, physiology and psychology - suggests that we have no free will as everything is determined by science

Question 24

Pierre-Simon Laplace’s quote + view on scientific determinism

Answer 24

“We ought then 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… an intelligence which could comprehend all forces by which nature is animated and the respective situation of the beings who compose it”

Everything appears to arise in dependence on other tings, so the physical world has no scope of human free will to make a difference

Question 25

Avoiding scientific determinism - probabilistic laws of nature

Answer 25

Science generally operates through experiment evidence or observations, however, old theories are often replaced with newer, more accurate ones.
Therefore our current scientific knowledge may be wrong, this means that scientific laws cannot claim the absolute truth, but only a degree of probability

Question 26

Avoiding scientific determinism - quantum scale

Answer 26

There is debate among quantum physicists on how the quantum theory should be interpreted
Bohr and Heisenberg claims that laws governing the quantum world are inter deterministic and probabilistic, if this is true then determinism seems to be false, however there are other quantum world interpretations too

Question 27

What is psychological determinism

Answer 27

A form of hard determinism (e.g. skinner, human behaviour is a result of genetic and environmental conditions), there can be no freedom of will

Question 28

Psychological determinism - Skinner

Answer 28

Skinner’s study in operant conditioning and his rat box experiment. Suggests that all behaviour can be conditioned, through the reinforcement of behaviour based on their last outcomes. If there are good consequences then behaviour would be repeated, if there are bad consequences, then behaviour would be avoided.

Question 29

Psychological determinism - Pavlov

Answer 29

Pavlov’s study into classical conditioning and his experiment on dogs. Behaviour can be associated, by associating two events you can produce a certain behaviour (e.g. Pavlov’s dogs associated the buzzer with food, therefore they would salivate when hearing the buzzer)

Question 30

Psychological determinism, ‘radical behaviourism’ by Skinner

Answer 30

‘Radical behaviourism’ sometimes used to refer to Skinner’s approach as it involves all aspects of mental activity
Skinner denied the existence of internal psychological states such as intentions and purposes, also denied the existence of free will
Claimed that determinism is ‘complete’

Question 31

Evaluating skinner’s radical behaviourism

Answer 31

Noam Chomsky dismissed Skinner’s proposals
Claimed that Skinner’s application of animal behaviour to complex human behaviour is unsound
Also, that if human behaviour in its entirety is merely a set of conditioned responses determined by genetics and the environment, then his own theories are an example of a conditioned response, so why should we accept it

Question 32

What is theological determinism

Answer 32

A form of hard determinism according to which the future is determined by God’s omniscience, so there can be no freedom of will

Question 33

Theological Determinism - St. Augustine and Calvin

Answer 33

Theological determinism led St. Augustine and Calvin to the doctrine of predestination
An omniscient God must know the entire past, present and future of the universe and of humanity.

Calvin concluded that God’s omniscience means that… “some are eternally ordained to glory, through the sheer will of God, and the rest are ordained to eternal torment” - this view receives less support, since it makes it seem like God is a immoral monster

Question 34

Theological determinism - the problem of an omniscient God’s foreknowledge

Answer 34

An omniscient God’s foreknowledge must be causal, because if God knows that you will do ‘x’ at a specific point in the future, you cannot avoid doing ‘x’
If this is the case, then free will must be an illusion and all events in the universe are determined by God’s omniscience

Question 35

Theological determinism - a timeless God

Answer 35

Aquinas’ view that God doesn’t exist in time, but exists timelessly

Some may argue that God’s omniscience means that God sees the results of our future free choices but does not cause them, God has no power to intervene and control, but he does not - he permits human free choices

Question 36

Theological determinism - a temporal God

Answer 36

God exists in time, God cannot know the future, so Theological determinism is false
E.g. process theology, they see God and the physical universe as two aspects of one reality: God is equivalent with all the physical processes of the universe
In this, the future hasn’t happened yet, a temporal God would not know the future, would not be a threat to human free will

Question 37

Conclusions concerning Hard Determinism

Answer 37

No conclusive evidence to show that Hard determinism is true or false

Question 38

Libet’s experiments - concluding Hard determinism

Answer 38

His experiments seemed to show that the brain prepares to act well before we are conscious of the urge to move, the will is not under an individual’s conscious control, but is the result of determined electrical brain processes - free will is denied and mental activity is determined

This produced a flutter of approvals from determinists, thinking that this supports determinism - but Libet denied the deterministic interpretation of the data, he argued that the brain had the ability to veto pre-conscious intentions, this veto is also freely chosen

Question 39

What is libertarianism

Answer 39

The view that, despite restraints form genetics and the environment, human beings are free moral agents

Question 40

Libertarian view on the relationship between the mind and body

Answer 40

Most libertarians are mind-body dualists
Follows Descartes’ view that the mind is a separate substance from the physical body and brain, and is able to freely act in the physical world

Question 41

What would a ‘moderate’ libertarian think

Answer 41

• would not deny that the external world is deterministic
• would also accept that deterministic processes affect living beings
• would accept that the personality is to a large extent governed by heredity, social situation and environment
• would accept that such influences incline us to act in certain ways rather than others

Question 42

Reasoning behind the libertarian view that we are free

Answer 42

Human behaviour is not determined by external causes
All our experience of decision-making and following moral principles, also our sense of guilt when something goes wrong, suggests that we are actually free
That we can choose what to do, and that we must therefore take responsibility for our actions

Question 43

Libertarianism - limitations on human behaviour

Answer 43

Physical limitations: there are things that we are physically incapable of doing

Psychological limitations: if we have a strong psychological motivation for one particular choice, this will have some bearing on what we choose, depending on the degree of motivation

Social limitations: we are all limited by the financial, social and political structures under which we live. The way we live are influenced by our social circumstances

Question 44

Libertarianism view on complete freedom

Answer 44

Believes that complete freedom would lead to some kind of paralysis
Limitations (physical, psychological, social) are acceptable, because the idea of complete freedom makes little sense

Question 45

Most common reason for arguing for libertarianism - experience

Answer 45

We experience ourselves as free, and we also have a sense of moral responsibility (including guilt when we get things wrong)
‘Folk psychology’ - the opinion of ordinary people who make day-to-day decisions without doubting that they are freely made

Question 46

Determinist rejection to ‘folk psychology’

Answer 46

Reject this, argue that this ‘sense of freedom’ is simply an illusion
This is brought about by the fact that our brains are so complex, and the reasons for our actions are so varied - we simply experience the unconscious sorting out of these reasons as freedom

Question 47

Libertarian response to the determinist rejection of ‘folk psychology’

Answer 47

If this is an illusion, then it is a very persistent one
Also, if unconscious processes are so complex, then it is just as likely that they support real freedom as opposed to the imaginary kind

Question 48

Libertarianism - forward looking

Answer 48

Determinism - looks back at the sequence of prior causes which determines an event
Libertarianism - primarily concerned with future goals, precisely because the future can be self-directed

Emphasis on future action, where moral decisions are goal-directed, the libertarian can control their desires in favour of rational deliberation

Question 49

Evaluating libertarianism - evidence

Answer 49

Determinists argue that there is evidence for determinism, but none for libertarianism
Libertarians argue that the only evidence possessed by determinists is that the physical systems are governed by natural laws, but there is no compelling reason to think that the mind is governed in such a way

Question 50

Libertarianism > determinism

Answer 50

Most of us assume that we are free - moral guilt proves this as we would realise when we wrongly make a free choice

If determinists claim that determinism is right and libertarianism is wrong, why should we listen to them - why should we listen to a determined statement

Question 51

What is incompatibilism

Answer 51

The view that determinism and libertarianism are incompatible; a deterministic universe has no room for free will, we must choose one or the other

Question 52

What is compatibilism

Answer 52

Sometimes called ‘soft determinism’

The view that human freedom and moral responsibility are compatible with determinism

Question 53

Hume’s understanding of free will

Answer 53

Thinks that we have ‘liberty of spontaneity’ rather than ‘liberty of indifference’
Liberty of indifference - freedom from necessity, being free of causal necessity and he saw this as a delusion
Liberty of spontaneity - liberty which is consistent with necessity, the ability to do what you desire

Question 54

Hume - the necessity required by causal determinism

Answer 54

The kind of necessity required by causal determinism is not logical necessity

Logical necessity - the kind we find in maths, e.g. 2 + 2 = 4

We have got into the habit of assuming that the laws of nature are from logical necessity when all we see in nature is constant conjunction

Question 55

Hume - constant conjunction

Answer 55

“Our idea… of necessity and causation arises entirely from the uniformity observable in the operations of nature, where similar objects are constantly conjoined together, and the mind is determined by the custom to infer the one from the appearance of the other… beyond the constant conjunction of similar objects, and the consequent interference from one to the other, we have no notion of any necessity or connection”

Question 56

What does Hume mean by constant conjunction

Answer 56

Whenever we look at nature, we see that (A) is usually accompanied by (B)
E.g. whenever (A) water is heated to 100 degrees, we constantly find that (B) water boils
Since these things always happen together, our mind makes a connection.

Therefore, we cannot talk about the necessary laws of cause and effect in nature, that the understanding of ‘necessity is too strong’
All we can talk about in nature is constant conjunction, that (B) would constantly follow (A)

Question 57

Constant conjunction in human nature

Answer 57

People’s principles and motives are as constant as the patterns of wind, rain, etc.
People in societies depend on each other and there is hardly anything that we do without reference to each other

Question 58

Constant conjunction in humans - Hume’s quote

Answer 58

“The mutual dependence of men is so great in all societies that scarce any human action is entirely complete in itself, or is performed without some reference to the actions of others”

Question 59

How does human regularity show that liberty and necessity are compatible

Answer 59

Since constant conjunction is found both in nature and human nature, physical events, human wishes and desires are a one kind operation - the actions of the will and natural causes form one linked chain
There is then a regularity between human choices on one hand and human actions on the other
Therefore, human choices must stem from human choices, and this is required fro free will

Question 60

Hume - why does freedom require determinism

Answer 60

If our wishes and desires were simply random, the order of human life, by which we make sense of the world and ourselves would be lost

Question 61

Hume’s definition of freedom

Answer 61

“… a power of acting or not acting, according to the determinations of the will; that is, if we choose to remain at rest, we may; if we choose to move, we also may.”

Question 62

Evaluating Hume’s compatibilism - his philosophical method

Answer 62

He has a good philosophical method
Insists that the whole debate about freedom and determinism is about definitions, and that once we accept his definitions, everything becomes clear - that is correct
If necessity boils down to ‘constant conjunction’ in nature and in human nature, then Hume seems to be right: liberty is consistent with necessity and we have freedom to do what we desire

Question 63

Evaluating Hume’s compatibilism - compatibilism vs. Determinism

Answer 63

Hard determinists believe that Hume’s idea of necessity and causation as ‘constant conjunction’ is too watered down
Hume’s ‘wishes and desires’ can be claimed as the product of absolute causal forces, so the idea that wishes and desires can in any way be free is unscientific

Question 64

Evaluating compatibilism - reason

Answer 64

Libertarians believe that compatibilism ignores the power of reason
For libertarians, reason allows us to make real moral choices by which our lives become properly meaningful
For Hume, reason seems to be indistinguishable from the forces of nature - everything is watered down to ‘constant conjunction’

Question 65

Problem with determinism if it is true

Answer 65

If determinism is true, then even the discussion or consideration of determinism must be determined, this seems counter-intuitive

Question 66

Problem with compatibilism if determinism is true

Answer 66

If determinism is true, then for a compatibilism to say that we can still perform voluntary acts - that we are free to follow our wishes - makes no sense since voluntary acts are also determined
Making a choice would not be a possibility

Question 67

What is the problem with libertarianism

Answer 67

Most libertarian arguments claim that through physical systems are determined, the mind is somehow free
But so far, nobody has produced a convincing answer concerning how the brain manages to act freely, and exactly where and what part of the brain is involved

Question 68

What is therapeutic punishment

Answer 68

Treatment/ punishment aimed at helping/ healing the criminal rather than being retributive/ proportional to the crime

Question 69

Approach to crime as a mental condition

Answer 69

Accepts that there are determining factors of an individual’s life for which they either cannot be blame or blame should be limited
E.g. they may have been brought up in a domestic environment of violence - might also have a lack of education
This suggests that treatment should be theraputic, since corporal punishment may lead them to re-offending

Question 70

Approaches to crime as a deliberately anti-social behaviour

Answer 70

A deliberate anti-social behaviour, and should be punished
This means that punishment should be carried out
- retribution: compensates the victim, allows the criminal to pay for their crime
- signifies societies’ disapproval of criminal acts, acts as a deterrent for those thinking of committing
- enforces idea of responsibility
- reform is costly and ineffective, better to compensate victims
- criminals cause harm to others and to society, society should be protected from criminals

Question 71

Consequences of moral responsibility theory - Hard determinism

Answer 71

If determinism is true, no freedom of the kind required for moral responsibility, pointless to punish criminals and reward those who don’t commit crime

Question 72

Consequences of moral responsibility theory - Hard determinism (religious sense)

Answer 72

If determinism is true, then any idea of ‘sin’ against God becomes redundant, because no one can be blamed by God for doing what their determined nature makes them do
Also means that Christianity is incoherent as it is based on the central doctrine of Jesus’ atonement for Human sin

Question 73

Consequences of moral responsibility theory - Hard determinism (Skinner)

Answer 73

Believed that his work would lead to reform of the practice of praise and blame, reward and punishment - punishing people for antisocial behaviour is not really effective as they may go back to original behaviour after punishment
Punishment also makes people resentful and aggressive
We can instead, condition people so that in the future they have no desire to harm the society, this means that they would not need punishing

Question 74

Skinner’s view on reward and punishment (quote)

Answer 74

“It should be possible to design a world in which behaviour is likely to be punished seldom or never occurs”

Question 75

Consequences of moral responsibility theory - Libertarianism

Answer 75

Must hold people responsible for their actions: hence praise and blame, reward and punishment are needed to lead people to be morally responsible

Question 76

Consequences of moral responsibility theory - Libertarianism (law in the UK)

Answer 76

Law in the UK acknowledges diminished responsibility for a number of different types of people and situation like children, those with mental illnesses as well
Defence lawyers try to take into account
Otherwise the law punishes those who are judged guilty of the crime — their behaviour was free, not wholly determined by mental, social or environmental circumstances

Question 77

Consequences of moral responsibility theory - Libertarianism (Kant’s ‘ought implies can’)

Answer 77

‘Ought implies can’ - we feel the moral compulsion concerning what we ‘ought’ to do, suggesting that we are able/ free to do it
Our freedom is clear as seen in how we are able to feel guilt and remorse when we fail to do what we ought

Question 78

Consequences of moral responsibility theory - Libertarianism (punishment as retribution)

Answer 78

In a system where there are no laws to control behaviour, we lack external freedom as others can enforce their own choices with violence - to have external freedom, we have to live under the rule of law
If one breaks the law, then they limit other’s freedom and pushes us towards a state of nature
In response to this, society must reverse the maxim on the criminal: the maxim is ‘whatever undeserved evil you bring upon another person must be brought upon yourself’
The proper aim is therefore retribution (can’t be deterrence as it uses the criminal as a means that an end, can’t be rehabilitation because that assumes that the criminal is incapable of reason) - only retribution allows the criminal to become a rational person who is responsible for their own actions

Question 79

Consequences of moral responsibility theory - Libertarianism (weakness)

Answer 79

If determinism is true, then libertarianism itself is another kind of determined response to moral issues
People may be conditioned to believe that they are causally determined or that they are causally free
So if a libertarian supports a type of punishment, it makes no difference since all responses are determined

Question 80

Do compatibilists see themselves as morally responsible/ morally accountable and why

Answer 80

Compatibilists would answer the question ‘could I have done otherwise?’ With ‘yes, if I had desired to do otherwise’
They see themselves as morally responsible/ accountable because:
- their moral choices are not the results of physical restraints or coercive threats
- they wanted/ desired to act as they did despite being aware of alternative actions

Question 81

Hume’s view on people being held morally responsible/ accountable for their actions

Answer 81

Hume argues that people are blameworthy only where our choices come from our character - people’s actions are judged only in so far as ‘… they are indications of the internal character, passions and affections.’
Punishment is to improve society, should be part of social engineering to repress anti-social behaviour; while stimulating a virtuous character

Question 82

Hume’s quote on heaven and hell

Answer 82

“Why then would there be eternal punishment for the short-term offences of a frail creature like man? Our moral ideas come mostly from our thoughts about the interests of human society. These interests are short-term and minor; ought they to be guarded by punishments that are eternal and infinite? The eternal damnation of one man is infinitely greater evil in the universe than the overthrow of a billion kingdoms”

Question 83

What does Hume think of the ultimate reward of heaven and ultimate punishment of hell

Answer 83

They are senseless - totally disproportionate either to human good or human evil

Question 84

A problem with compatibilist accounts of moral responsibility/ reward and punishment (‘just deserts’)

Answer 84

‘Just deserts’ - a theory of punishment that sentencing should be proportionate to the severity to the crime
Andrew con Hirsch argued that the ‘treatment’ model of punishment should be replaced with a judicial system of sentencing the criminal according to their desert - more retributive

Compatibilism and determinism leans towards theraputic model but libertarians think that the punishment should fit the crime

Question 85

Problem with compatibilist accounts of moral responsibility/ reward and punishment (incoherency)

Answer 85

A strong suspicion that compatibilism is incoherent
Hume’s account of ‘necessity’ as ‘constant conjunction’ is rejected by determinists and libertarians
If either determinism or the libertarians are right, then compatibilism is incoherent