Freedom Without Choice
Why moral judgment is possible (and necessary) without free will Introduction # In a world where political outrage, moral sensitivities and mutual recriminations dominate public discourse, the idea that no one is really ‘at fault’ seems radical. No politician, no criminal, no human being – not even Donald Trump. I subscribe to a harsh determinism: the idea that every thought, every feeling, every action is causally produced by preconditions. There is no free will in the metaphysical sense. And that is precisely why it is possible to treat people with deep empathy – without condemning them. But that does not mean we are defenceless.