
phil questions
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May 7th, 2012 | syntax:
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(7) Does a person who hands over her wallet when threatened with a gun do so of her own free will? What would D’Holbach, Frankfurt, and Sartre say? What is your own view? Give reasons.
(8) What are second-order volitions, and why, according to Frankfurt, are they important in formulating compatibilist accounts of free will? Is his view plausible? What might Taylor say, and would you agree? Give reasons.
(9) In "Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility", Frankfurt argues that a person can be morally responsible for what he or she does even if s/he couldn't have done otherwise. What are some examples of what he has in mind, and do you agree with his evaluation of them? What does this question have to do with the question of whether free will is compatible with determinism?
(10) Can a hard determinist like Holbach (consistently) believe that it’s legitimate to punish people for their crimes? If not, why not; if so, why?
(11) In "Existentialism is a Humanism" Sartre presents an example of a young Frenchman, during World War II, who has to make a decision. What point is he trying to make, and is he successful?
(12) What is moral luck, and how does Nagel think it figures into our praise and blame of people for what they do? Is he correct? Discuss.
(13) Could a computer in a robot body ever act freely? Would such a creature be any less capable than human beings of acting freely if determinism is true? If so, why; if not, why not?
(14) Compare and contrast Locke’s and Frankfurt’s definition of “person”. Could someone be a person in Locke’s sense, but not Frankfurt’s? Frankfurt’s but not Locke’s?