Spring 2025

Freedom and Responsibility

Listed in: Philosophy, as PHIL-341

Faculty

Nishiten Shah (Section 01)

Description

Are we free? Do we possess the freedom necessary for moral responsibility? What form of freedom is necessary for moral responsibility? Is this freedom compatible with causal determinism? To be morally responsible for an action, must its agent have been able to act otherwise? Must she have chosen her own character? These are the main questions we shall address in this course. To address them, we shall read works by Hume, Reid, Chisholm, Ayer, Strawson, Frankfurt, Nagel, and others.

Limited to 25 students. Prerequisite: One course in Philosophy. Spring semester. Professor Shah.

How to handle overenrollment: Allow everyone to register. Preference to majors, then by class and to those who attend first class.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Emphasis on written work, readings, independent research, oral presentations, and group work.

Course Materials

Offerings

2023-24: Not offered
Other years: Offered in Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2018, Spring 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2025