A Comparison Of Moral Responsibility And Free Will

In this essay I shall explore the question of moral responsibility and free will, by looking at, and comparing, ideas that stem from a Kantian philosophical position, and those that stem from a naturalist philosophical position. I will also consider the implications that follow from each position, when considering the issue of punishment. Furthermore, I will show that although Kantian and naturalist philosophers typically differ in some aspects, such as their concept of the source of free will, they find themselves in much the same position when it comes to determining when moral responsibility is applicable. However, when we turn to applying moral philosophy to the important practical issue of punishment, the Kantian position becomes incoherent as soon as we consider the possibility that free will does not exist. Conversely, a naturalist position, particularly one of the consequentialist tradition, remains capable of answering such an important normative question, regardless of whether its notion of free will turns out to be correct or incorrect. Ultimately then, I will suggest that it is the naturalist philosopher who is in the better position to tackle the normative question of punishment, that arises in applied moral philosophy.

For the Kantian philosopher, free will is key to morality, especially moral responsibility. For her, an individual cannot be considered morally responsible for an act, unless the act was performed after freely deciding upon it, and that the decision came about via the process of reasoning. That is, the individual reflected on a course of action and then decided to act, without being directed by alien causes, passions or impulses (Spark Notes Editors 2005). Furthermore, the individual must have had the...

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...s, the naturalist position is ultimately the more robust of the two, and capable of dealing with the normative question of punishment, that is of great importance to everyday life.

Works Cited

Dawkins, R. (1976). The Selfish Gene. Oxford.

Dennett, D. (2014). Reflections on free will. http://www.naturalism.org/Dennett_reflections_on_Harris%27s_Free_Will.pdf
Last accessed 18th July 2014.

Korsgaard, C. M. (2012). Kant: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals. Cambridge University Press.

Pinker, S. (2002). The Blank slate. Penguin.

Rohlf, M. (2014). Immanuel Kant, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward N. Zalta(ed.). http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2014/entries/kant/>
Last accessed 18th July 2014.

SparkNotes Editors. (2005). SparkNote on Immanuel Kant (1724–1804). http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/kant/
Last accessed 18th July 2014.