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Moral Responsibility, Determinism, and the Ability to do Otherwise
Authors:Peter van Inwagen
Affiliation:(1) Department of Philosophy, The University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556-5639, USA
Abstract:In his classic paper, ldquoThe Principle of Alternate Possibilities,rdquo Harry Frankfurt presented counterexamples to the principle named in his title: A person is morally responsible for what he has done only if he could have done otherwise. He went on to argue that the falsity of the Principle of Alternate Possibilities (PAP) implied that the debate between the ldquocompatibilistsrdquo and the ldquoincompatibilistsrdquo (as regards determinism and the ability to do otherwise) did not have the significance that both parties had attributed to it -- since moral responsibility could exist even if no one was able to do otherwise. I have argued that even if PAP is false, there are other principles that imply that moral responsibility entails the ability to do otherwise, and that these principles are immune to ldquoFrankfurt-stylerdquo counterexamples. Frankfurt has attempted to show that my arguments for this conclusion fail. This paper is a rejoinder to that reply; I argue that he has failed to show this.
Keywords:compatibilism  determinism  free will  Harry G. Frankfurt  moral responsibility  principle of alternate possibilities
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