The document discusses the concepts of free will and moral responsibility from different philosophical perspectives: - It introduces the debate around whether humans truly have free will to make decisions or if all actions are determined by prior causes and circumstances outside of one's control. - It outlines three major positions on this issue: hard determinism which denies free will, libertarianism which believes in free will, and soft determinism which believes actions are determined but individuals can still be morally responsible. - It provides examples of how these perspectives would view scenarios like a soldier shooting a civilian, and addresses philosophers like Kant and Sartre who argued that free will and moral responsibility are inherently linked.

1. (C) Phill Allen 2009

2. Key reflections
1. Are we as free as we think?
2. What factors limit our ability to
act freely?
3. How should individual freedom be
balanced against social
interests?
4. Can we be morally blameworthy
for our actions if we are not
free?
LO: to define and give examples of
the major concepts of the topic.

3. Rub your hands together vigorously.
Describe in detail what just happened and why.
The friction that occurred from vigorously rubbing
your hands together caused the hands to heat up.
There is a theory that everything that happens in the universe has a cause. This is
called the theory of universal causation.
Without causation, science would not work. When an
individual is ill, doctors must establish the cause before
they can offer a cure.
So, can universal causation also be the determining factor in regard to human action?
Are humans truly free to make decisions in a given situation, or do all the circumstances
that led to that person being in that specific situation, determine an inevitable outcome?

4. LO: to define and give examples of the major concepts of the topic.
The theory that we are free to act as we wish and therefore the individual is
morally responsible for their own actions as people are ‘self-determining’, which
means they make their choices of their own volition.
1. Write a brief definition for each
perspective.
2. Which view do you most agree with?
The theory that all human decisions and actions are determined by other events
and actions that happened prior to that moment. This removes any individual
moral responsibility as a person’s decisions are determined by external factors.
The theory that some human actions are determined by things such as values,
desires and prior choices, but that the individual is still free to make a moral
choice at the moment of decision and thus is morally responsible.

5. When referring to a person’s free will, people often assume it equates to some
kind of permission slip; ‘I want to do this, I have free will, therefore, I can.’
But just how free are we to make our own choices? Can you choose to fly, for
instance, become God or even the Pope?
Free will can only work in the parameters of the surrounding influences that may
indeed limit it. Give an example of our limitations from these influences:
Family Genetics &
Environment
Natural Law Society Religion Conscience

6. Consider: An army sniper is stationed on a
roof in Baghdad. He looks through his scope,
aligns his target, squeezes the trigger and
shoots dead an innocent civilian.
4. The soldier
shot the
innocent
civilian by
mistake
because he
was a poor
shot.
5. The soldier
was
hallucinating
after having
taken some
drugs.
LO: to define and give examples of the
major concepts of the topic.
1. The soldier
was acting on
an order
from his
superior
officer.
3. The soldier
intentionally
shot the
innocent
civilian.
2. The soldier
had been
threatened
with
execution if
he didn’t
obey his
orders.
Task: 1. In the boxes below write down the
scenarios you are given in order of how
much the soldier is to blame for his actions.
2. Is the soldier morally responsible in each
case?
3. Should there be any difference in the way
that he is punished?
Most Blameworthy Least Blameworthy

7. What can you learn in 5 minutes?
• In 3 groups, look at one of the 3 different areas:
– Hard determinism
– Soft determinism
– Libertarianism
• Make notes on the main ideas of the theory and
major criticisms.
• Don’t worry – we will go spend some more time
on the main thinkers at a later date.

8. Q: How would a libertarian, a hard determinist and a soft determinist view this situation
and how might they justify their thinking? LO: to define and give examples of
the major concepts of the topic.

9. ASBO family banned from borough
A family of five have been banned from harassing
anyone in England and Wales and also banned from
their home borough of Wirral.
A court was told the Bridge family's neighbours in
Grosvenor Road, New Brighton, had "lived in fear"
of them. District Judge Nick Sanders issued the ASBO
on Thursday at Birkenhead Magistrates Court. It affects
John Bridge, 40, his wife Karen, 37, and their sons
John Jnr, 20, Alan, 18, and Luke, 16.
The family were alleged to have been involved in
threatening and violent behaviour, verbal abuse,
intimidation and criminal behaviour, including
dangerous driving and organised vehicle crime.
The reputation of the family is very strong and
residents were incredibly frightened of reprisals.
John Jnr and Alan are currently serving prison
sentences and, along with their parents, are banned
until September 2012, while Luke has been banned
from returning to Wirral until March 2009.
Suppose during the hearing John
Jnr, Alan and Luke had claimed
that they were not to blame for
their actions as they were a
product of their upbringing.
Task: In pairs prepare a case both
for the prosecution and defence
using the three views on moral
responsibility you have looked at
so far.
[BBC News Archive September 2006]

10. In stating that a person has a
moral responsibility to act in one
way or another automatically
suggests they have the ability to
choose which option to take. Thus
morality depends on freedom
“Ought” implies “can”
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
Q: What did Kant mean by this
and was he right?
Praise or sanctions for moral decisions are only valid for actions freely undertaken.
If I am forced to drive a
bank robber’s getaway
car at gunpoint, can I be
blamed? If I am forced
to donate to charity at
gunpoint should I be
praised?
“Man is not free
not to be free.”
John-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)
What do you think French
philosopher, John-Paul Sartre,
meant when he said...

11. • Sartre believed that ‘At the start, man simply is.’
Therefore this blank canvas, as it were, is nothing
other than a ‘perpetual process of self creation’.
In other words, we are responsible for who we
have become and so freedom, in Sartre’s
thinking, excuses no one.
• Sartre referred to man’s freedom as a burden, as
to him, absolute freedom ultimately equates to
absolute responsibility; ‘Man, as completely free,
has the complete responsibility over his freedom.’

12. ‘There are no accidents in
life…’
‘Man is condemned to be
free, because once thrown
into the world, he is
responsible for everything
that he does.’ (Being and
Nothingness)