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We choose to do what we do. Or do we? The issue of free will is a bread and butter one for
philosophers. We’ve been arguing for thousands of years about this sort of thing. Some argue that
we are free to choose as we wish. Others say we are not. To some, our actions are determined by
an all powerful supreme being. Calvinists, for example, believe that all of our actions are predetermined by the divine. Today, there are those that suggest that the brain is merely a matter of
electrical impulses, that our actions are determined by biology. And still, most believe that we
choose to do what we do.
The real payoff here lies in the notion of moral responsibility. We don’t blame people for doing
things where they have no choice. If your friend gets pushed by a bully and bangs into you, do you
blame your friend for the accident? Your friend will rightly say, "it is not my fault. I did not
mean to do that." We don’t blame people, or even praise them, for doing things that they
do not do voluntarily.
There is one part of voluntary action that has always intrigued me – namely non-voluntary action.
I’ve always been interested in the situation where one is coerced, or forced to choose to do
something. In this section of the Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle sets out the first understanding of
coercion and moral responsibility.
Please see attachment to read the chapter on voluntary action from the Nichomachean Ethics.
There are two steps to this assignment:
1. Explain what Aristotle means in this text. Why is it important to distinguish between actions that
are voluntary and involuntary? Listen to my video explaining the notion of non-voluntary action as a
third option and discuss.
2. Put this in a concrete context. Have you ever been concerned with an action that was less than
fully voluntary? Have you ever seen a case where one was wrongly accused for something that was
less than voluntary? Be creative here. In particular, you might want to look into the legal arena.
Have you ever heard of a case where someone was forced to commit a crime against his or her will?
(I’m thinking maybe of Patty Hearst here! see the SLP)
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