Philosophy 101: From Plato and Socrates to Ethics and Metaphysics, an Essential Primer on the History of Thought by Kleinman Paul

Author:Kleinman, Paul [Kleinman, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4405-3768-1
Publisher: F+W Media
Published: 2013-03-24T16:00:00+00:00

RESPONSIBILITY

When discussing free will, one must also discuss the idea of responsibility; particularly the distinction between responsibility and moral responsibility. Responsibility is when one takes on a task or burden and accepts the associated consequences. For example, if you take on the responsibility of organizing a conference for work, then you not only take on the task of organizing the event, but you are also taking on the responsibility of its outcome; be it a success or failure. This is responsibility. Moral responsibility, on the other hand, is responsibility based on one’s moral codes. Let’s say that on the day of the conference, a big snowstorm hits and none of the speakers can make the conference. You are responsible for the success or failure of the conference, but are you morally responsible for the conference’s failure?

It seems that humans do in fact feel responsible for their actions. But why is this the case? If one’s actions are determined by events, that is to say, one’s actions are the result of events and have been planned since before birth, then libertarians would ask why people feel responsible for their actions. Similarly, if one’s actions are totally random and determined entirely by chance, determinists would wonder why people feel responsible for their actions. Together, these questions create the standard argument against free will.

Yet humans do feel responsible for their actions. So if a person is responsible for his actions, this must mean that responsibility is caused by something that is within all of us. Therefore, a prerequisite of responsibility is free will, and not the other way around. And furthermore, a prerequisite of moral responsibility is responsibility, and not the other way around. One does not need moral responsibility to have responsibility, but one certainly needs responsibility to have moral responsibility.

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