tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-433440494954489625.post7788666927724520390..comments2009-12-15T09:35:32.509-08:00Comments on Existentialism @ Rhodes: Is strong Free Will really required for someone morally accountable?Doctor Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13189506916480012553noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-433440494954489625.post-25201105204377924442009-09-13T11:28:09.042-07:002009-09-13T11:28:09.042-07:00Much of this problem (and many others in our Metap...Much of this problem (and many others in our Metaphysics class) seems to stem from varying definitions of freedom. Black didn't actually change Jones' decision, so I would agree that alternate possibilities play no role in this instance of freedom of choice and, likewise, moral responsibility. <br /><br />I am curious, however, if Underground Man's recognition of his ability to act contrary to what is in "his best interest" does not point to some other type of freedom, a recognition of determinism and a rejection of environmental factors upon one's choices. Underground Man's environment (including his body) would have him find a physician to diagnose and treat his liver, but he chooses not to do so. Perhaps a behaviorist would chock his obstinacy up to some developmental problem; perhaps Underground Man's relationship to his father was troubling and contributed to his spitefulness. We cannot rightly know because this is supposedly a fictional character. <br /><br />I am also left to wonder, to use an equally sci-fi example, what effect the discovery of all neural states (akin to Richard Rorty's Antipodeans) would have upon our common practice of holding people morally responsible. If all decisions and thought processes amount to manipulable neural states, the constant shifting of neurons, what can we be justified in believing about the concept moral responsibility? Are we only justified in what we naturally hold to be true, from an evolutionary standpoint? If so, will there always be an Underground Man to rebel against these norms? I suppose later in the semester we will read some examples of the basis (or lack thereof) for morality.K Kiferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13557636332006728382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-433440494954489625.post-7615882787568721982009-09-13T11:26:54.598-07:002009-09-13T11:26:54.598-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.K Kiferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13557636332006728382noreply@blogger.com