Free Will and Moral Responsibility AQA A-Level RS

This in-depth resource covers the AQA A-Level Philosophy topic of Moral Responsibility, exploring the key philosophical debates surrounding free will, determinism, and moral accountability. It is designed for both students and teachers, providing clear explanations, structured content, and exam-focused material to support high-level understanding and assessment preparation.

Topics Covered

1. Free Will and Moral Responsibility
   • What it means to act freely
   • The conditions required for moral responsibility
   • The relationship between freedom, choice, and blame
   • The difference between voluntary and involuntary actions

2. Determinism
   • The claim that all events are causally determined
   • Hard determinism and the denial of moral responsibility
   • Key arguments supporting determinism (scientific, psychological, theological)
   • Implications for praise, blame, punishment, and moral accountability

3. Libertarianism
   • The belief that humans possess genuine free will
   • Agent causation and the idea that individuals can initiate actions
   • Challenges to libertarianism, including randomness and lack of control
   • Key philosophers and thought experiments supporting libertarian freedom

4. Compatibilism
   • The view that free will and determinism are compatible
   • Freedom as the ability to act according to one’s desires without external constraint
   • Soft determinism and moral responsibility
   • Strengths and weaknesses of compatibilist theories

5. Moral Responsibility and Punishment
   • The relationship between free will and moral accountability
   • Justifications for punishment: retributive vs consequentialist approaches
   • Whether punishment is fair in a determined world
   • The role of moral responsibility in praise, blame, and justice

Essay questions.