[MD] Moral Responsibility without free will

[david buchanan]

Marsha axed:
Is there a difference between the law holding someone responsible&  protecting citizens from further harm and a individual being "morally responsible"?  Just a question...


dmb says:
Yes, there is a big difference. I think that was Sam's point. We build tornado shelters because tornados do damage, not because we hold them morally responsible for their actions. Same with brain-diseased psychopaths. We lock them up because they do damage, not because we hold them morally responsible. We can identify them as the cause of the damage, so they were responsible as an efficient cause, like a bullet, but they cannot be held responsible as moral agents, Sam says.