Undergraduate Course: Free Will and Moral Responsibility (PHIL10090)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course covers the main issues in the philosophical debates about freedom, determinism, and moral responsibility. Among the more specific topics that may be addressed: Formulations of determinism; historical responses; Frankfurt style examples (designed to show that moral responsibility for an action does not require the ability to act differently); Strawson?s account of the reactive emotions; compatibilist theories about the nature of responsibility and freedom; moral luck; the difference between excuses and justifications; the relevance of ignorance; collective responsibility. |
| Course description |
This course provides an introduction to the problems of free will and moral responsibility ¿ some of the deepest and hardest (and most discussed) problems in all of philosophy. Broadly speaking, the problems arise through reflection on what William James called ¿the dilemma of determinism¿: if determinism is true, then it can seem that nothing we do is genuinely ¿up to us¿, and accordingly that no one is fairly blamed or praised. On the other hand, how does indeterminism help with free will and moral responsibility? Wouldn¿t indeterminism simply imply that everything we do is a matter of chance or luck? In short, the thought that we are free, responsible agents is arguably a fundamental aspect of our conception of ourselves and our place in the universe. But is this conception indeed justified? We will investigate the main contemporary theories regarding the relationships between free will, moral responsibility, and determinism. In this course, we will approach these problems through two key texts: Four Views on Free Will (edited by Manuel Vargas), and Susan Wolf¿s book, Freedom Within Reason.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | At least 3 university level philosophy courses at grade B or above. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
| To develop further the philosophical skills, and to extend as well as deepen the philosophical knowledge acquired in previous philosophy courses.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Patrick Todd
Tel: (0131 6)51 5179
Email: Joshua.Stapp@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Susan Richards
Tel: (0131 6)51 3733
Email: |
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