Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development (ICLAHD 2020)

The Possibility of Moral Responsibility

Authors
Nelson Zhang
Corresponding Author
Nelson Zhang
Available Online 17 December 2020.
DOI
10.2991/assehr.k.201215.501How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Moral responsibility, Agent, Galen Strawson
Abstract

In “The Impossibility of Moral Responsibility,” Galen Strawson presents his view that moral responsibility is impossible if determinism is true. On the other hand, Roderick Chisholm strongly defend a libertarian view in his paper, “Human Freedom and the Self.” Chisholm believes that an agent has the ultimate freedom to decide, and deterministic causes are not enough to cause an action. In this paper, I will briefly present the structure of Strawson’s argument that moral responsibility is impossible because of his so-called “Basic Argument.” For Strawson, agents cannot be responsible because their actions are determined by prior causal chains, and agents definitely are not responsible for those causal chains. Then, I argue that moral responsibility is possible because deterministic causes are not enough to cause an action. Third, I will challenge Strawson’s position by arguing that his core argument can be rejected. Finally, I deal with one plausible challenge.

Copyright
© 2020, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development (ICLAHD 2020)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
17 December 2020
ISBN
10.2991/assehr.k.201215.501
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/assehr.k.201215.501How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2020, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

Cite this article

TY  - CONF
AU  - Nelson Zhang
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/12/17
TI  - The Possibility of Moral Responsibility
BT  - Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development (ICLAHD 2020)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 579
EP  - 582
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.201215.501
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.201215.501
ID  - Zhang2020
ER  -