FW

Question 1

Aristotle’s belief on moral responsibility

Answer 1

Moral responsibility is only when u act on things voluntarily

Moral agents must be conscious, rational and free

Question 2

Why can only humans be considered moral agents

Answer 2

Conscious and can act upon their rationality freely.

Computers/AI are not moral agents cuz they r independent of independent thoughts as they r told what to do by a programme e.g. a self driving car can’t be blamed for killing a person.

Animals aren’t moral agents cuz they act on instinct not reason e.g. an orca can’t be blamed for acting on its prey instinct which led to the orca killing a dolphin.

Having a stoke whilst driving and killing some1- r not responsible as ur not acting freely, but if someone who suffers from strokes frequently and knows they should be driving they r morally responsible as they made a free choice.

Question 3

Humes conditions of moral judgement (use for assessment)

Answer 3

A person needs to have lived long enough to acquire some moral discretion and cannot be hindered by psychological or neurological disability

Question 4

Humes innate source of moral awareness

Answer 4

Morality is rooted in feelings, not reason
E.g. feelings of disproved or approval we naturally fee when observing actions e.g. feeling praise for kindness

These feelings r automatic, universal (though not always identically expressed)
Driven by empathy

Howver, if innate then surely all cultured would have same morals
Some people hv flawed moral compass e.g. mass murderers
Can’t teach morality if based on instinct

Question 5

Social context as source of moral awareness

Answer 5

Under extreme pressure, people r no longer able to think normally-people may do something in a fit of temper that they later regret

However, multiculturalism e.g. arranged marriages- different cultures have different morals, problems for international law
People have been socialized differently

Question 6

Religious tradition as source of moral awareness

Answer 6

Morality coms from god/divine revelation

Question 7

Hard determinist (Spinoza)

Answer 7

Free will is an illusion
Every event has a cause and each effect has been predetermined by prior causes e.g. genes, environment

Psychology shows that behaviour is heavily influenced by factors we don’t choose
E.g. choosing what to eat feels free but that is the result of
Past experiences (u liked chocolate before), current brain activity (hunger hormones), environmental causes (seeing an ad) or genetic factors (sweet tooth)-further explained by Pavlov’s dog experiment

Therefore, we don’t ultimately choose ur actions and we can’t deserve praise and blame for them in a moral sense

Question 8

Free will definition

Answer 8

Ability to make genuine, voluntary choices that is not influenced by biological or external causes

Question 9

Scientific determinism

Answer 9

Everything in the universe (including us) is governed by physics - future is also determined

Question 10

Psychological determinism (skinner)

Answer 10

All behaviour is a result of genetic and environmental conditions
Pavlov’s dog experiment- dogs naturally salivate when shown food
Pavlov rang a bell just before giving food
After repeating this, the dogs salivated just from hearing the bell alone

Therefore behaviour is controlled by a stimuli, no free will as the dogs couldn’t choose not to salivate once conditioned .
Similarly, human behaviour may be shaped by past conditioning beyond our conscious control.

Question 11

Theological determinism

Answer 11

Calvin’s double pre-destination
God is omniscient - FW=illusion

Question 12

Examine how accepting the claims of moral determinism affect views on moral decision making (10)
1) removes moral responsibility

Answer 12

Hard determinism removes FW.
Poses challenge for legal systems because people can’t be held accountable for their actions cuz they r not morally responsible for any actions they commit to cuz it has been pre-determined by prior conditions e.g. genetics, environment.

Theological determinism suggests that this is due to god’s omniscience where He predetermined every action an individual will make before they r born as he is outside of time- Calvin’s double predestination
Scientific determinism -Everything in the universe (including us) is governed by physics - future is also determined.

Therefore, praise and blame become meaningless as we didn’t freely choose our actions. Therefore the aim of legal systems is to protect society and act as a deterrent but not cuz people ‘truly deserve’ it

Question 13

Examine how accepting the claims of moral determinism affect views on moral decision making (10)
2)cause and effect

Answer 13

Becomes more about discovering cause and effect.
Explained they pscyhogical conditioning where all behaviour is a result of genetic and envirmntal conditions.

All behaviour is a result of genetic and environmental conditions
Pavlov’s dog experiment- dogs naturally salivate when shown food
Pavlov rang a bell just before giving food
After repeating this, the dogs salivated just from hearing the bell alone

Therefore behaviour is controlled by a stimuli, no free will as the dogs couldn’t choose not to salivate once conditioned .
Similarly, human behaviour may be shaped by past conditioning beyond our conscious control.

Punishment can shift from seeking revenge to facilitating rehabilitation

Question 14

Examine libertarianism (10)
1) human behaviour

Answer 14

Human behavior is special because science can’t predict human behavior.
E.g. Rosa parks who was a law abiding citizen decided to not give up her seat to a white person.
Christmas truce in WW1 between German and British soldiers.
This was unusual cuz it went against psychology- a law abiding citizen transcending psychological conformity to challenge an unjust system,and no one would’ve predicted this truce as both sides would’ve consumed propaganda about the other side.

Therefore, making human behavior special and unpredictable by science.

Question 15

Examine libertarianism (10)
2) agent causation

Answer 15

Libertarians argue that genuine FW must be an uncaused cause originating from the agent.
If FW is uncaused by prior events, it is random.
E.g. if mother Teresa were to throw a grenade into an orphanage, the action would be random cuz she didn’t intend for it to happen and she has no dark past or extreme personality that would lead her to do that.
Therefore, point to an agent causation, where ur conscious self is the ultimate source of decision making- must act w intention and reason to avoid randomness e.g. choosing to walk instead of taking the bus to work because you want to be healthier and reduce your carbon footprint.

Question 16

‘Compatibilist views on FW r more convincing than determinism’ (15)
1) compatibilism is more convincing

Answer 16

Renders praise and blame to be meaningful.
Cuz compatibilism suggests that we can still hv FW when an action is caused in the right way even if humans are pre-determined e.g. when some1 apologizes for a mistake based on their desires and intentions.

This matters because, while your actions stem from your personal desires and intentions, they still operate within a network of internal and external causes. This is significant cuz it allows us to hv moral responsibility which allows for meaningful praise and blame. This argument becomes even more compelling as it aligns with how we view the world e.g legal systems and our intuitions.

However, this argument loses its merit cuz it is too vague to define free will as an action that is ‘caused in the right way.’
defining free will as an action “caused in the right way” can be circular, as it may rely on the agent freely choosing the beliefs and desires that cause the action.

A circular definition is when a term is defined using itself, directly or indirectly, so it doesn’t actually explain anything. For example, defining “happiness” as “the state of being happy” provides no new information and makes the definition unhelpful

Question 17

‘Compatibilist views on FW r more convincing than determinism’ (15)
2) determinism

Answer 17

Although not very convincing…
Hard determinism is more cuz it is backed up by science
E.g. Psychology shows that behaviour is heavily influenced by factors we don’t choose
E.g. choosing what to eat feels free but that is the result of
Past experiences (u liked chocolate before), current brain activity (hunger hormones), environmental causes (seeing an ad) or genetic factors (sweet tooth)-further explained by Pavlov’s dog experiment

Therefore, we don’t ultimately choose ur actions as every event has a cause and each effect has been predetermined by prior causes e.g. genes, environment

However= quantum physics suggest that not all things can be pre determined as the worl is constantly changing on a micro scale.