An Analysis of Moral Responsibility, Freedom, and Determinism

This essay delves into the intricate concept of moral responsibility, examining its relationship with human freedom and determinism. The author explores how individuals respond to events and the philosophical underpinnings of these responses. The essay investigates various viewpoints, including libertarianism, hard determinism, and compatibilism, to understand the true nature of moral responsibility. It discusses how moral responsibility acts as a moral compass, guiding actions based on societal norms and customs. The paper analyzes the impact of free will on moral responsibility and how it is limited to those capable of rational thought and distinguishing right from wrong. The essay also provides an analysis of the concepts of libertarianism, hard determinism, and compatibilism. Ultimately, the essay concludes that moral responsibility is linked to an individual's ability to reason and adhere to societal norms, while acknowledging the role of fate and determinism in influencing actions.

Running head: MORAL RESPONSIBILITY
Moral responsibility
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The actions of the human beings in the society are considered to be the responses
to the event which is in force during that period of time. In other words, human beings
respond automatically to the situation they are facing. However, many theorists of
morality have tried to understand the reason behind the response and how the event
compels the concerned individuals to act in a particular manner (Edens 2017). While
many psychologists are of the idea that the response of an individual is dependent on
their personality and character, this is in fact, not considered to be true by the
philosophers. They take a more deterministic approach to the entire question of
response to an event. The purpose of this paper is to understand the issue of
determinism. In this context, the true nature of moral responsibility and its
relationship to the element of human freedom and determinism has been judged in the
essay. The essay has looked in to the concepts of libertarianism, hard determinism or
compatibilism to this extent.
Moral responsibility
The aspect of moral responsibility refers to that situation where the activities of
an individual depends on the issue of right and wrong (Clark, Winegard and
Baumeister 2019). In the field of philosophy, moral responsibility is that phenomenon
which deserves the reward, praise or blame and punishment for an act of omission or
compassion which has been performed by the said individual. Deciding on an activity
which needs to be conducted within the frame work of a society is dependent on the
ethical morals which are inherent within that individual.
In other words, moral responsibility acts as a moral compass of the person. There
are no written laws and rules which guides the action of the individuals (Widerker
2017). Rather, the moral responsibility stems from the inculcation of traditional

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customs and norms within that person. In this regard, it needs to be noted that a
person is considered to be morally and ethically sound when he or she abides by the
customary rules of the society (Clark, Winegard and Baumeister 2019). Depending on
the manner in which the aspect of free will is interpreted by an individual, their moral
responsibility would be fulfilled in that direction.
Relationship of moral responsibility to that of human freedom and determinism
The judgement which is made by the other individuals of the society with respect
to the activity which is performed by a concerned individual is dependent on the
extent to which that activity is morally sound. However, this judgement is also
dependent on other characteristic features such as that of the personality of that
individual and their will to undertake that particular activity (Hannikainen 2019). The
behavior of that person is considered to be linked to that manner in which the person
has exercised their capabilities and powers. In this context, it needs to be noted that
the non-human beings, the adult people in the society who suffers from certain
disabilities such as that of dementia and the young children are excluded from the
aspect of moral responsibility (Björnsson and Pereboom 2016).
Thus, the relationship between moral responsibility and human freedom and
determinism is dependent on the characteristics which are inherent within the
individuals (Clark, Winegard and Baumeister 2019). The people of the society who
are sound of mind, can undertake activities based on rationality and practical reason
and have the ability to differentiate the right from the wrong, are considered to be
capable of undertaking moral responsibility (Caruso 2018). Thus, human freedom is
limited to the capable people of the society while the others are excluded from this
element.
Libertarianism, Hard determinism and compatabilism

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The field of hard determinism considers the aspect of liberty rather than the free
will of the individual to explain itself. Determinism is in need of a different system of
morality ad therefore, it is much more harder to explain the element of free will within
hard determinism. Jonathan Cohen and Joshua Greene, research scholars in the field
of neuroscience, have stated that the aspect of moral responsibility is dependent more
on the libertarian or dualist notion (Goodyear 2016). They put forward the argument
that the research on cognitive neuroscience has undermined the importance of
intuitions as experiments have showed that the brain of the individuals is responsible
for the undertaking of any actions. However, any damage which occurs in the frontal
lobe of the individual severely undermines the ability of the person to take any risk or
make any logical decision (Clark, Winegard and Baumeister 2019). This leads to the
increase in the likelihood of the person in committing a violent crime. In this regard, it
can be seen that the commitment of any crime is against the aspect of moral
responsibility as it leads to the degeneration of the values and customs of the society
(Willmott 2016).
Cohen and Greene are of the idea that the law of any country are not in need of
such a libertarian interpretation of moral responsibility in order to punish people.
Rather, they should focus more on the promotion of the welfare of the community
instead of seeking vengeance and retribution (Frankfurt 2017).
On the other hand, the compatibilists argue that free will is still possible for the
human beings of the society even under the garb of determinism. The idea of
compatabilism has been wonderfully depicted in the story of Bhagwad Gita within the
Hindu culture. In the text, the character of Arjuna is seen to be complaining to
Krishna over the prospect of going to war with those kinsman with whom he shared a
deep bond. He argued that the various forces of nature actually compelled the

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different individuals of the society to under take all those activities which were
already predestined for them. Thus, in all aspects, it is useless to think that any
conscious actions of man would be able to bring about the desired change since
everything is already fated to be so (Clark, Winegard and Baumeister 2019). In
answer to this, Krishna opined that the individuals who are able to discern the
relationship between the forces of nature and his own actions, is able to witness
another set of force of nature to work upon the fated force of nature and bring about
the changes that is so desired by the individual himself (Submitter and Alexander
2019).
This proves that compatabilism is more suited to understand the aspect of free
will and human freedom. Moral responsibility might be considered to be
predetermined by the aspects of libertarianism and that of hard determinism but
compatabilism is more oriented towards human actions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be noted that moral responsibility is dependent on the ability
of the human beings to reason out their actions. They need to be aware about the
customs and norms which is peculiar to their society. In accordance to this, they need
to under take only those activities, which, according to them, are compatible with
such values and traditions. They main purpose of moral responsibility is to uphold the
harmony and integrity of the society. However, the element of fate plays a significant
role in this regard. The actions which are under taken by the individuals in a
conscious manner, might not be the result of their conscious efforts. Rather, the factor
of determinism states that an individual is already fated to under take such actions.
Thus, they are the victims of destiny and fate. It is this argument which has been
analyzed in detail within the paper.

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