If there is no free will does the concept of responsibility still make sense?
Question asked by: knowitall
Some people have thought that if we do not have free will, then it is wrong to attribute responsibility to people.
Specifically if the criminal has 'no choice' over their actions then is it right to punish them, and so on.
Well, most people say that it does still make sense to make people responsible for their actions.
The reason is that under a determinist scheme it is the complex interaction of causes and effects that make people act as they do.
If they know an effect of their action will be punishment or jail then it will cause many people not to commit crimes. If there is no punishment or responsibility attached to actions then the causal inputs to peoples decisions and actions change and therefore make them much more likely to act in certain ways that are not preferable.
Therefore even if determinism is true it makes sense for us to continue just as we do and there is still a role for responsibility.
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Question Keywords
concept responsibility sense free
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