The Philosophical Debate On Moral Responsibility - 1690 Words

Philosophical debate on moral responsibility has a long history. Thousands of years, many philosophers have debated on whether human beings are morally responsible for their actions. To answer this question, philosophers use terms like free will, determinism, compatibility and deservingness to help it. The question is still a major issue addressed today. To be morally responsible means to accept praise, blame, reward, or punishment for an act or omission in accordance with one s moral obligations. People could argue that they have free will or not. According to general knowledge of free will, free will can be defined as the ability to do things on ones own discretion. Thus, in this paper I will argue that humans are morally responsible for their actions. I will prove this by using the concepts of Free will and determinism. Free will in the sense that for humans to be morally responsible for an action, one has to be free and conscious of his or her decision. In the case of Determinis m, the presence of causation and external forces has minimal effect or no effect on moral responsibility. Free will Human beings are morally responsible for their actions because they posess free will. Free will is a choice or a desire to do something of ones accord. According to Paul Edward, a philosopher, when we call an action â€Å"free† we mean that the agent is not compelled or constrained to perform it. (Edward). One might argue that people act in certain ways because they have been drugged orShow MoreRelatedComparing Compatibilism Vs Incompatibilism : A Compatibilist View1332 Words   |  6 Pagesthat determinism implies no free will, or the compatibilists view that determinism still allows for free will. The incompatibilist philosophical thinkers have taken determinism as use of a scapegoat, identifying determinism to infer that human beings are unable to have any free will, thus no moral responsibility for taken actions. Whilst the compatibilist philosophical thinkers have taken a softer view of determinism, holding the view that an agents actions are pre-determined, although th e agent isRead MoreMoral Standing on Abortion1087 Words   |  5 PagesMarch 2014 Moral Standing on Abortion To say that a person has moral standing is to give consideration to his or her wellbeing. According to Robert M. Veatch’s The Basic of Bioethics, moral standing is believed to be â€Å"that humans (at least normal humans) have moral standing [as well as] other animals† (27). Moral standing is determined by the physical or mental capacities of self-awareness or rationality. However, controversy arises when determining when one actually has full moral standing. AbortionRead MoreSocialism And The Economic System1373 Words   |  6 PagesSocialism serves to satisfy many philosophical questions therefore making it an ideal position in the economic justice debate. In looking into this position we find satisfaction in the answers it affords us. Socialism fulfills the innate responsibility of the government to care for its people. Moreover, aside from fulfilling this responsibility, socialism is the economic system that delivers the highest benefit as applied to the whole. Th e importance of these answers is that the primary questionRead MoreAnalysis Of The Philosophical Concepts Of Determinism And Free Will1711 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of Free Will The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines â€Å"free will† as the discretion to choose between varieties of courses of action.The debate and arguments that surround free will have occupied philosophers for many centuries. Many scholars believe that the concept of free will is connected to the concept of responsibility, guilt, sin and other judgments that apply to the actions that are freely chosen by people. Other philosophers also link free will to the concept of persuasionRead MoreDeterminism Vs. Free Will1341 Words   |  6 Pagesevery event there exist conditions that could cause no alternative event. Free will is a philosophical term describing a particular sort of capacity of rational agents to choose a course of action from among various alternatives. Understandably, the dichotomy between these two concepts is a topic philosophers have debated over for many years. As a result of these debates, a number of alternative philosophical perspectives arguing for the ex istence of free will, namely libertarianism and compatibilismRead MoreCase Analysis And Report : Wilson V. R. Facts1355 Words   |  6 Pagesdismissed the appeal. Mr Wilson appealed once again to the High Court. 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As a result of these often-heated arguments, many factions have evolved, the two most prominent being the schools of Libertarianism and of Determinism. Within these two schools of thought lies another debate, that of compatibilism, or whether or not the two believes can co-exist. In his essay, Has the Self â€Å"Free Will†?, C.A. Campbell, a staunch non-compatiblist and libertarian, attempts to explain the Libertarian argument. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;ToRead More The Free Will Debate Essay2989 Words   |  12 Pagesother vital philosophical issues: freedom of action and moral accountability, which is the main reason why the debate is so vital. Simply stated, a person who has free will refers to an individual’s ability to choose his or her route of action. However, animals also appear to suit this measure, further adding to the debate because free will is typically thought to only be possessed by human beings (Broad 1990). Over the years, there has been an extended running controversial debate as to whether