Law 5110 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Indeterminism, Moral Agency, Compatibilism
Document Summary
Can responsibility survive (causal) determinism: answer may depend on theory of punishment. The law"s requirement for responsibility a general capacity for rationality . must be understood according to some contingent normative notion both of rationality and of how much [of which] capability is required. For example, legal responsibility might require the capability of understanding the reason for an applicable rule, as well as the rule"s narrow behavior command. These are matters of moral, political, and ultimately legal judgment, about which reasonable people can and do differ. The only freedom" we need, is not the ability to act independently from the body, but in accordance with one"s goals and values; in law, there is a presumption of such freedom and subsequent responsibility. We are only not responsible if certain mental capacities were imposed upon or undermined, e. g. excuse when we were constrained (duress); mental disease (insanity defence).
