AS Units 1 and 2 - Introduction to Religious Studies
Study guide
Ethics - Free Will & Moral Responsibility
25 views 0 purchase
Course
AS Units 1 and 2 - Introduction to Religious Studies
Institution
AQA
AQA Religious Studies - Ethics - Free Will & Moral Responsibility - Full in depth notes according to the specification, including quotes, key thinkers and everything you need to achieve an A*.
AS Units 1 and 2 - Introduction to Religious Studies
All documents for this subject (55)
Seller
Follow
miahende
Reviews received
Content preview
Free Will and Moral Responsibility
Free will - If a person has free will they can be held morally responsible. The ability to make
choices not determined by other factors.
Determinism - Everything that happens is the consequence of an antecedent state of affairs.
Soft Determinism - The person does not have complete control over every action, but can nonethe-
less be hold responsible for their actions.
Reductionism - Everything can be stripped down to separate parts, which links to hard determinism
as the separate parts are the causes and effects of antecedent events and actions.
Libertarianism - A rejection of determinism, they believe in free will.
Soft Libertarianism/Compatibilism - Some of our actions are determined but we are morally respon-
sible for some. Just because there have been antecedent events, does not mean we have no
moral choice.
Moral Responsibility - To be morally responsible requires a totally free human agent who is of con-
scious mind and has capability to make decisions.
Considerations of free will:
• Upbringing
• Genetics
• Psychological makeup
• Social pressures/contracts that they are a part of
Considerations of moral responsibility:
• Are they able to distinguish right from wrong?
• Have they lived long enough to acquire moral discretion?
• Are they suffering from severe mental health or learning difficulties?
• Are they under extreme pressure?
Becoming morally aware:
• We all have an innate moral sense (this may be affected by factors above) - David Hume be-
lieves we have an in-built ‘moral sense’ and faculty of sympathy - psychopaths?
• We learn right from wrong from social context - parents, society, morals reflected in law, cultural
and social traditions, which can lead to cultural relativism (FGM is a cultural tradition but is
morally wrong is western society
• Religious morality - arguably similar to social context and upbringing.
Do we have free will?
• Epicurus - The world is entirely physical and any event is, in theory, predictable given its circum-
stances and the natural forces involved. We have no control over nature and therefore have no
freedom of action.
• John Locke - Gives the analogy of a man who wakes up in a locked room and decides not to
leave. This raises the interesting question of whether he has free will, or if it’s just an illusion.
Theological Determinism:-
• If God is omniscient this would imply he knows everything, therefore God knows the future,
meaning we are predetermined.
• Aquinas - argues that God exists timelessly. He sees the results of our free choices in advance
but does not cause us to do them, therefore we are not predetermined and have free will. God
has the power to intervene but does not. There is no past, present or future for God, he sits out
of time.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller miahende. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.09. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
