Strawson’s Arguments

Strawson’s Arguments

In his arguments, Strawson seeks to understand the fundamental concepts involved in people’s way of thinking. He argues that moral responsibility is impossible, regardless of whether determinism is true or not (Hartman, 2018). Strawson’s argument is premised on the notion that it is not practically possible for anyone to be morally responsible since self-creation is impossible. I contend that Strawson’s arguments are underwhelming and unsound.

First, I argue against Strawson’s notion that man cannot self-create. People can be good or evil, in a moral sense, when faced with a similar motivation (Hartman, 2018). To that end, either condition, evil or good, is an outcome of one’s free choice. Consider the case of exhausted workmates at work in the afternoon. One may choose to take tea to rejuvenate themselves and continue working, while others may choose to sleep and ignore work. Although these two individuals have no power to prevent exhaustion from setting in, each of them has the freedom to choose how to react to exhaustion. Consequently, this capability disqualifies Strawson’s basic argument people cannot self-create since everyone can decide how they react to situations. Strawson’s basic argument does not hold water since it commits to a linear justification of problems. Hire our assignment writing services if your assignment is devastating you.

Secondly, I assert that one may be a morally responsible and free agent even if determinism applies. People are responsible for their actions unless they encounter a certain set of constraints, such as the use of force and threats. When two outcomes governed by determinism occur, an agent is free to choose how they would react to either of them without necessarily violating determinism (Zhang, 2020). A good example to illustrate this is when someone has to choose to either eat pasta or eggs for breakfast. If one chooses to take eggs for breakfast, determinism cannot be used to explain why they made such a decision as both choices (eggs and pasta) were desirable for them. Therefore, the power to make a decision when faced with a dilemma lies with the decider, and the same applies when one has to choose a morally responsible path or otherwise.

References

Hartman, R. J. (2018). Constitutive moral luck and Strawson’s argument for the impossibility of moral responsibility. Journal of the American Philosophical Association, 4(2), 165-183.

Zhang, N. (2020, December). The possibility of moral responsibility. In 2nd International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development (ICLAHD 2020) (pp. 579-582). Atlantis Press.

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Strawson’s Arguments

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