Determinism, causation and moral responsibility

Overview

Principle of causality, hard determinism and soft determinism.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   State the principle of causality.

   Model answer

   The principle of causality holds that every event has a cause sufficient to bring it about, so nothing happens without antecedent conditions that account for it.

2. 2

   Define hard determinism.

   Model answer

   Hard determinism is the position that every event including every human choice is fully determined by prior causes, and that free will and moral responsibility are therefore illusions.

3. 3

   Define soft determinism.

   Model answer

   Soft determinism accepts that human actions are caused but holds that an action is nevertheless free when it is caused by the agent's own character and desires rather than by external compulsion.

4. 4

   Distinguish internal from external causation.

   Model answer

   Internal causes are those operating within the agent, such as temperament, belief and desire; external causes are those acting on the agent from outside, such as threat, addiction to a substance or physical restraint.

5. 5

   Why does the internal and external distinction matter for responsibility?

   Model answer

   Most legal and moral practice excuses an agent overwhelmed by external compulsion while holding responsible an agent who acted from their own settled character, so the distinction does the work of the soft determinist position.

6. 6

   How is behaviourism used to support determinism?

   Model answer

   Behaviourists such as B F Skinner argued that behaviour is shaped by patterns of reinforcement in the environment, so what looks like free choice is the product of a conditioning history.

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