Assignment 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Assignment 4 - Essay Example In other words, free will is said to be operant whenever an action is seen to be morally responsible or lack thereof. In the same vein, free will is applied to those actions which lead to significant consequences. The second condition is important, for there is no utility in dissecting the intentions of an individual when they do not spring from a will to act. Having said this, sometimes people make the right choices for the wrong reasons. To prevent such pitfalls, Campbell says that ‘inner acts’ is what needs to be considered, as opposed to ‘overt acts’. Campbell goes on to further refine the scope for free will. An individual cannot be held accountable for decisions and actions that are beyond his realm of control. To this extent, only those acts are accounted for, for which the instigator is the sole actor. As Campbell readily admits, his endeavour toward a sound definition of free will is only partially successful. Not only are there too many conditions, but there are also extraneous factors such as heredity and environment which have a bearing on the exercise of free will. Considering all the loopholes and external factors, Campbell adopts a simplified guideline, whereby, an individual can be blamed or praised for his acts, only if he could have acted otherwise. There is some merit to the view that heredity and circumstance can considerably limit human volition. But this premise only sets the scope within which free will can be evaluated. It does not follow that determinism is the overarching explanation for human action. The other major problem with determinism is that it disburdens people from moral responsibility. While Campbell’s success in defining free will could be debated, his essay has a definite utility. It helps the reader understand the various truisms, assumptions, variables, factors and pitfalls that the project entails. Yet, by the end