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Moral Luck
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... ”(Nagel)
Perhaps the most appropriate way to begin assessing the possibility of responsibility even for the “stripped-down acts of the will” is to first understand what constitutes responsibility and what purpose or importance responsibility has on moral judgement. ...
This repeats itself ad infinitum yet the argument requires a beginning and an end for there to be moral responsibility. Since this is impossible so is moral responsibility. ... But it is because of this very fact that compatibilist’s “responsibility” can never amount to true moral responsibility but can only provide examples where punishment or reward may be said to be intrinsically appropriate or fitting. ... As incompatibilists – those who believe that freedom and moral responsibility are incompatible with determinism – libertarians reject determinism as false. ...
If we are to accept Strawson’s Basic Argument for which we have a firm foundation to accept, why is it that we are not satisfied to give up our would be illusion of free moral agency? ... ”
One last thing is to be said concerning where accepting Strawson’s Basic Argument leaves us – in a world where there is ultimately no moral responsibility. Can we find any consolation with nihilism in relation to moral responsibility? It is important here to understand that nihilism concerning moral responsibility is not the same thing as meta-ethical nihilism – the claim that all positive ethical statements regardless are false. It might still be possible, at least on the surface, to judge some activities, actions, states of affairs as better or worse than others, and thus to be favoured and encouraged even if moral evaluations in terms of true responsibility, praise or blame, etc. ...
In conclusion, based upon Strawson’s Basic Argument of the impossibility of causa sui and its necessity for true moral responsibility, we cannot be (truly) responsible even for the “stripped-down acts of the will” since they are inevitably the product of antecedent circumstances outside of the will’s control.
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Paper Information
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Title: Moral Luck
Words: 1455
Rating: None
Pages: 5.8
submitted by: borarad
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