In his essay “Moral Luck, Self-cultivation, and Responsibility: The Confucian Conception of Free Will and Determinism,” Kyung-Sig Hwang of Seoul National University seeks to demonstrate from a practical stance why Confucianism fits best with a compatibilist view on free will and then, by analyzing this conclusion from a theoretical stance, argue that a deterministic view could also be accepted. He begins by discussing moral luck and responsibility, which segues into the problems with both a libertarian conception of free will and hard determinism that make them inadequate options, before continuing into an examination of texts from Confucius and Mencius which he interprets to support compatibilism. In addition to his own interpretation of the texts, Hwang appeals to other scholarly articles on the matter to help build his argument, uniting important topics such as the heart-mind, flood-like ch’i, and heavenly fate with the themes featured in the title.
Why Compatibilism? …show more content…
Before one begins this process however, one has already been influenced by factors outside of his control and continues to be influenced throughout his entire life. Therefore, Hwang notes that character “is actually a compound of both internal and external factors,” which can be attributed to moral luck. This term encompasses factors at all stages of one’s life including genetic traits, the environment by which one is surrounded, and even things that may affect the outcome of a choice or action (Hwang 5). Hwang ties this issue into an argument against libertarian free will made by Galen Strawson. The argument goes that because one is not able “to fully control or influence their own existence,” a problem for which Hwang cannot offer a solution, nobody can assign a “moral evaluation on an agent’s decision” (6). By this logic, he rules out libertarian free will as an
Why Compatibilism? …show more content…
Before one begins this process however, one has already been influenced by factors outside of his control and continues to be influenced throughout his entire life. Therefore, Hwang notes that character “is actually a compound of both internal and external factors,” which can be attributed to moral luck. This term encompasses factors at all stages of one’s life including genetic traits, the environment by which one is surrounded, and even things that may affect the outcome of a choice or action (Hwang 5). Hwang ties this issue into an argument against libertarian free will made by Galen Strawson. The argument goes that because one is not able “to fully control or influence their own existence,” a problem for which Hwang cannot offer a solution, nobody can assign a “moral evaluation on an agent’s decision” (6). By this logic, he rules out libertarian free will as an