180074 PS Willensfreiheit und moralische Verantwortung (2018S)

Contents: The problem of free will (that is, the question of whether our actions are free) is one of the hardest in philosophy. One reason why it is so hard is that it has implications for whether we can be held responsible for our actions. One would think that we can only be held responsible for our actions if they are freely chosen; one can hardly be held responsible for something one was compelled to do. In this course we will look at the three main views about freedom of the will—libertarianism, compatibilism and ‘hard’ compatibilism—and their consequences for moral responsibility. As we will see, all of these views have, in one way or another, difficulties making sense of the idea that we can be held responsible for the things that we do. We will also look at a range of other related issues including whether it makes sense to blame people for their actions if their actions are not free, the nature of blame itself, manipulation, and hypocrisy.

Aims: By the end of the course students will have acquired and developed:

1. An understanding of debates about freedom of the will, moral responsibility, and how they are related.
2. An appreciation of the complexity and importance of these debates.
3. A range of valuable skills and abilities (how to evaluate an argument; how to construct a valid argument; how to read a complicated text).
4. The ability to express complex philosophical ideas and views, with an emphasis on clarity, structure, precision, concision and dialectical effectiveness.
5. A range of transferable skills, including the skills mentioned above, but also the ability to work to a deadline, prepare a group presentation and conduct one’s own research (e.g. find and consult a range of primary sources).

Methods: Each seminar will be based on a text, which will be read in advance. I will also assign 1 or 2 ‘additional readings’ for each class. The seminar will begin with a short presentation by a small group of students. If necessary, I will provide some broader context for our discussion. Otherwise, the remaining time will be used to discuss the substantive philosophical issues raised by the text. After each session I will circulate a short document summarising the key points and arguments in the text we have discussed and highlighting any important issues arising from our discussion.