The Case Of The Unwilling Addict - 1479 Words

Desires and Moral Responsibility We have certain notions of what free-will is. But before we can discuss the notion of free-will, we need to establish the meaning of this term. Having free-will refers to one’s choices or desires (O’Connor, â€Å"Free Will†). A person who is able to act according to the determinations of their will (i.e., choices or desires) is free (Russell, â€Å"Hume on Free Will†). But is it always fair to blame people for performing morally wrong actions when they act on the basis of their own desires? In this paper I will defend that those who perform morally wrong actions on the basis of their own desires are exercising free-will, and are therefore responsible for their morally wrong actions. To further bolster this case, I will argue for the Principle of Alternative Possibilities by re-evaluating Frankfurt’s case of the Unwilling Addict. I will then refute the notion of determinism by referring to Wolf’s JoJo example by taking a compatibilist approach . In 1971, Harry Frankfurt wrote his second most influential paper on free-will. Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person asks; what is it to be a person? In Frankfurt’s view, one essential difference between persons and non-human animals is to be found in the structure of a person’s will (193). Presumably, animals appear to have the capacity for what Frankfurt refers to as â€Å"first-order desires,† which are simple desires to do or not to do one thing or another (194). Frankfurt however, notes that humansShow MoreRelatedOpiate Addiction1214 Words   |  5 Pagesheroin. For example; â€Å"In an early study, for example, Inciardi reported that a cohort of 239 male heroin addicts from Miami committed 80,644 criminal acts during the 12 months before being interviewed (Inciardi, 1979).†. 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