Moral responsibility

which things that are not under your control can affect the amount of moral responsibility that you face? For this topic, there are generally three main views that claim to answer this question, and they are each rather simple; first, there are those that think that people are only blameworthy for things that are under their control. Second, there are those who think that people are blameworthy for things that are not under their control, and lastly, there are those that restrict the second view, such that they can compromise between both views. In this paper, I will discuss the first two views only, providing arguments for the second view as well as possible counterarguments from those that think the first view is correct.…

Moral Responsibility In book III of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, he develops and discusses his theory on responsibility in relation to human actions and character. Aristotle states that as mature beings we are held accountable for our voluntary actions; but he also expresses that children and animals perform voluntary actions as well. In the following paper, I will focus on the actions and passions for which we are held responsible for, as well as those from which we are excused from. The…

Hume Paper David Hume presents two important theories on moral responsibility and personal identity. In his theory of moral responsibility, he states that sometimes people are responsible for their actions and sometimes they are not; it depends if their actions are caused by a person’s character. In his theory of personal identity, he argues that the idea of self does not persist over time, therefore someone cannot be held responsible for their past actions since they are always changing. While…

What duty do we have to help those who might otherwise starve without our intervention? Is it our responsibility to help our fellow man in need or are we free to stand on the sidelines? Philosophers Jan Narveson and Peter Singer offer contrasting viewpoints on the moral obligations affluent nations have to aid and support the poor. Where Singer reasons that by having the privilege of living in nations of wealth, this benefit carries with it the moral obligation to help those around the world who…

Personal responsibility is a moral cause that an individual chooses to show accountability for one’s own actions, specifically in personal relationships. Garath Williams (2013) contends that personal responsibility involves parties in a personal relationship who “not only share responsibility for their relationship, but also – to some degree that is negotiated between them – for one another’s lives” (p. 351). Moreover, personal relationships are formed through mutual respect of individuals.…

The topic of moral responsibility is a popular debate among philosophers. Moral responsibility and free will are tightly intertwined, making the argument slightly more complicated. Free will is defined in two ways: 1. open choice, which states you choose x freely only if you could have done otherwise, or 2. voluntary choice, which states you act freely if and only if you act voluntarily, without coercion or constraint. Determinism is defined: past events and the laws of nature fully determine…

Right vs. Responsibility Why states should protect one another. Along the sunny shorelines of Lesbos, Greece, a small body washes ashore. A child, in a failed attempt to seek refuge from the terrors in Syria. Teary eyed volunteers grasp the child, and bury it modestly. The government stops these Samaritans from grave digging, resulting in complete outrage and many unanswered questions. Implicitly, they ask this: wouldn’t you want your family given burial if you were unable? Is it not within…

When things don’t turn out the way people want them to, they easily blame others for theirs actions. Taking responsibility for one’s doing is easy if the outcome is accepted by others. But if the outcome is bad, they easily pass the responsibility to others. Humans are prone to blame others for mistakes they make. A unchangeable mistake was made when Victor Frankenstein created a monster in Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein. The monster was abandoned at first sight by his creator. Knowing nothing of…

paper I will be discussing two opposing views on whether or not we, as people, possess moral responsibilities. The foundation of each view is rooted in the disposition of whether or not free will is a fact or a myth. I will begin with Hume’s stance, a sentimentalist stance, on moral responsibilities, going off of A Treatise of Human Nature, Book III: “Of Morals”. I present the claim that our relationship with other people is the foundation of moral responsibility. I will then present the…

In society today is an expectation to understand right versus wrong, what is morally and socially acceptable. Friendships show the actions between the two people take for each other these actions show responsibility and moral integrity towards each other. The wealthy class in America during the twenties lacked any form of moral responsibility, many of them were careless. Nick becoming responsible for Gatsby was inevitable, from “Creating a Creator” by David H. Lynn. In The Great Gatsby by F.…