Question 1

"Contra-causal freedom would be a desirable thing to have." Which of the following would be most likely to reject this statement?
A) Hard determinist
B) Libertarian
C) Hard impossibilist
D) Fatalist

Accepted Answer

The answer of "Contra-causal freedom would be a desirable thing...

Question 2

The problem with imagining that contra-causal freedom involves a causal break between the personality and the mental act of choice is that it implies
A) the personality just appears from nowhere and then causes choices.
B) that actions result from a mental event (choice) that is in no way caused by the thoughts, wants, or moral views which we are calling the personality.
C) choices don't result in actions.
D) None of the above

Accepted Answer

The issue with imagining contra-causal freedom as a causal break between personality and the act of choice is that it suggests choices are made without being influenced by the individual's thoughts, desires, or moral perspectives, which are integral components of what we define as personality. This undermines the coherence of attributing choices to a person's character or identity.

Question 3

Soft determinism involves
A) determinism plus compatibilism.
B) determinism plus incompatibilism.
C) a combination of determinism and indeterminism.
D) None of the above

Accepted Answer

Soft determinism is the view that combines determinism with compatibilism, suggesting that free will and determinism are compatible.

Question 4

Which of the following views would answer yes to all the following questions: Is contra-causal freedom necessary for moral responsibility? Is contra-causal freedom coherent and desirable? Are we ever morally responsible?
A) Compatibilism
B) Hard impossibilism
C) Hard determinism
D) Libertarianism

Accepted Answer

Libertarianism affirms contra-causal freedom (the belief that our choices are not determined by prior events or natural laws), which it sees as necessary for moral responsibility. It argues that this type of freedom is both coherent (logically consistent) and desirable for holding individuals morally responsible for their actions. Thus, libertarians would answer "yes" to all the given questions, as they believe we are indeed morally responsible due to our ability to make free choices.

Question 5

Discuss in detail how you would have acted and reacted if you'd been in Q's place in "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss in detail how you would have...

Question 6

Discuss in detail how you would have acted and reacted if you'd been in Satan's place in "A Little Omniscience Goes a Long Way." Would you have decided that having chance in Adam's and Eve's minds was an improvement over inevitability? Is there some way you could have refined the experiment that God and Satan conduct?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss in detail how you would have...

Question 7

Discuss your own news of freedom and responsibility in the light of what you have read in this chapter.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Discuss your own news of freedom and...

Question 8

"A free agent is he that can do as he will, and forbear as he will, and that liberty is the absence of external impediments." This quote is an example of what particular view? Explain.

Accepted Answer

The answer of "A free agent is he that can...

Question 9

Peter Strawson says there are cases where an agent is not the sort of person toward whom resentment is ever appropriate. Why doesn't he think we would view everybody this way if we believed in determinism.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Peter Strawson says there are cases where...

Question 10

Would a libertarian hold everybody responsible for every one of their actions? Explain your answer.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Would a libertarian hold everybody responsible for...

Quiz 4: Freedom and Responsibility

"Contra-causal freedom would be a desirable thing to have." Which of the following would be most likely to reject this statement?

The problem with imagining that contra-causal freedom involves a causal break between the personality and the mental act of choice is that it implies

Soft determinism involves

Which of the following views would answer yes to all the following questions: Is contra-causal freedom necessary for moral responsibility? Is contra-causal freedom coherent and desirable? Are we ever morally responsible?

Discuss in detail how you would have acted and reacted if you'd been in Q's place in "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends."

Discuss your own news of freedom and responsibility in the light of what you have read in this chapter.

"A free agent is he that can do as he will, and forbear as he will, and that liberty is the absence of external impediments." This quote is an example of what particular view? Explain.

Peter Strawson says there are cases where an agent is not the sort of person toward whom resentment is ever appropriate. Why doesn't he think we would view everybody this way if we believed in determinism.

Would a libertarian hold everybody responsible for every one of their actions? Explain your answer.