Human Action: Freedom, Responsibility, and Choice

Posted on Jan 7, 2025 in Philosophy and ethics

Human Action: Freedom and Responsibility

  • Human Action

    • Approach to the Human Being

Operations are conscious and voluntary for the agent.

  • Specificity of Human Action

  • Animal Behavior: The actions of animals are conditioned by their instincts.
  • Behavior of a Computer: Their actions are defined by software.
  • Behavior: It is a voluntary agent because their behavior is spontaneous and not inherited. Therefore, the term “action” will address the human.
    • Individual Action and Collective Action
  • Individual: Produced by a conscious and voluntary agent.
  • Collective: Various agents, cooperatively and with the same objective.
  • Social: One or more individuals, which can only be done within a social context.
    • Motivated Action
  • Reason as the Cause: That which pushes the action.
  • Reason and Purpose:
  • Internal: Mental states.
  • External Factors Influencing:
    • Intentional Action

The action is intentional because it points to something to be achieved. While acting, intentions are ideas, and upon its completion, it can be a success or a failure. Whatever it is, there may be unintended consequences of action.

  • Understanding and Explanation of Action

    It consists in knowing the motives and intentions of the action.

  • Freedom

    • Approaching the Notion of Freedom

  • External Freedom or Action: The absence of external constraints that impede action.
  • Internal Freedom of Choice or Free Will: The ability to choose or want.

    • Determinism or Lack of Freedom

It is a philosophical concept that says that everything is determined, that is, inevitably caused. It is based on the principle of causality, which says that every event is caused. According to determinism, we do not have freedom of choice.

Physical Determinism: Claims that all reality is determined by natural laws. According to mechanism, the universe is a machine and responds like one.

Genetic Determinism: We are the manifestation of our genes.

Environmental or Educational Determinism: Environmental factors determine our behavior, which can be modified by learning.

Economic Determinism: Economic factors determine our behavior.

Theological Determinism: Everything we do is scheduled for a destination, or by a superior or divine will, and man is not the master of his actions.

  • Indeterminism or Lack of Freedom

Against certain claims that have confounded determinants (causes of action) with conditioning factors (reasons for action).

  • Evidence of Freedom: For some authors, such as Descartes, freedom is self-evident, that is, an axiom.
  • Theological Indeterminism: Accepts divine omniscience without denying the choice of human beings. Therefore, human beings have the capacity to err.
  • Freedom and Morality: Having freedom of choice and taking responsibility for our actions makes us the only moral animals that exist.
  • Physical Indeterminism: Quantum mechanics has led to indeterminism since, according to this, matter is not determined, and chance influences it.

  • Responsibility

    • Definition and Problem of Accountability

It consists of the obligation to take charge of our actions.

  • Responsibility from Determinism: If man has no freedom of decision, he is not responsible for his actions.
  • Responsibility from Indeterminism: For indeterminism, responsibility is to take charge of our actions.
    • What Are We Responsible For?

Some authors believe we are not responsible for the unintended consequences of our actions, but generally, it is believed that we are since we must prevent them.