Critically Assess the Claim That People Are Free to Make Moral Decisions

Sartre: Man is condemned to be free. He did not give birth to himself, but once thrown into the world he is responsible for everything he does. This freedom allows him free will.

At the same time, the Libertarians believe that people have “free will”, and there are no such inevitable results of those behaviors that are controlled by “free will”. Libertarianism has different meanings in different academic fields. From the general level, the libertarianism refers to people’s ability to decide whether or not to do something according to their

Jean-Paul Sartre in his book ‘Being and Nothingness’ provided us with a new interpretation of freedom consistent with his famous account on existentialism. This is the view that existence precedes its essence: “In a word, man must create his own essence: it is in throwing himself into the world, suffering there, struggling there, that he gradually defines himself” (Sartre, 1943), (Onof, 2016). Here, Sartre stated that humans are completely free and that this comes at a cost, as ultimately, we have the burden of responsibility. Nonetheless, of main consideration, is discussing Sartre’s theory of the ‘radical freedom’ of consciousness. This view is where he explained that at every second of decision-making, we have the possibility to modify ourselves, i.e. by participating in what Sartre calls ‘new projects’. But, this view is undermined, as it has the potential to jeopardise our very existence in the world (Onof, 2016).

So what is Peter van Imagens’ libertarian position, it is that there is free will and he rejects determinism. It means that our choices are not being predetermined by God or other humans. But with libertarian free will comes moral responsibility. Van Inwagen said that he knew people knew they were morally responsible for their actions and should be held accountable. So it is said that libertarian freedom is the freedom to make choices that might go against what is only in one’s own best interest, but to make choices for the good of all. So we make a moral judgement before we act. That implies again we have choices because we have options to consider. And if we have choices we have free will and that more than one path is available to

He was an atheist who believed that through the non-existence of God, there was “no such thing as a divine conception of a human being” ( Moore, Bruder, 159). In other words, we control who we are and there is no scolding “parent” to tell us what we should be or become. “Existence precedes essence”(Moore, Bruder, 159), which can be easily put to mean that one is who they make themselves to be, not what anyone else says they should be. Sartre’s second implication is that without the existence of God there is no specific reason or purpose for being. Yet, one should not interpret this as a fruitless existence, but Sartre means to say that humans, unlike other animals and subjects, are self-aware and capable of steering the path to their future. In Sartre’s third implication he completely rejects the idea of determinism, for without God’s existence, humans are “condemned to be free”(Moore, Bruder, 160). Sartre believes men are free, and utterly unrestrained. This condemnation to freedom simply states that the actions of one have no excuse because there is nothing that moves a human to do what they do. The fourth and final implication is that due to a Godless world with no established values, humans create their own. Sartre supports the commonly heard statement “ You are what you do” and for one to believe contrary to their actions is just lying to themselves for actions speak louder than

“We are left alone, without excuse. This is what I mean when I say that man is condemned to be free” (Sartre 32). Radical freedom and responsibility is the central notion of Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy. However, Sartre himself raises objections about his philosophy, but he overcomes these obvious objections. In this paper I will argue that man creates their own essence through their choices and that our values and choices are important because they allow man to be free and create their own existence. I will first do this by explaining Jean-Paul Sartre’s quote, then by thoroughly stating Sartre’s theory, and then by opposing objections raised against Sartre’s theory.

Kantian Ethics states that all morality can be reduced to respecting autonomy. This theory has faced criticisms as well as support. Its most plausible idea is that autonomous agents are capable of making their own decisions and even if their choices may not be the best for them, these choices should be respected. However, criticisms of this theory include concerns such as 1) respecting autonomy is not equivalent to respecting the autonomous agent, 2) the theory does not concern (or concerns very little) with non-autonomous agents such as children and non-human animals, 3) it is implausible that respecting autonomy is the only factor determining morality, and 4) respecting others’ autonomy does not follow from respecting one’s own autonomy.

Libertarian conceptions of justice hold liberty to be the ultimate moral ideal. Libertarians believe the “laissez-faire capitalism” to be the only just economic system because it is based on individual rights. Libertarians believe that each person is in control of their own life and possessions and has the right to make their own choices on how they live it. They feel that everyone has the right to live his life in any way they choose just as long as they are respecting the equal rights of others. Philosopher John Hospers also supports the Libertarian outlook and says that “laws requiring people to help one another (example – welfare payments) rob Peter to pay Paul.”

Philosophy is the manner in which we describe the world around us. We develop our moral code and way of life based off of this definition, so the philosophy that we adhere to is a guiding factor in the way in which we live. In his speech “Existentialism is a Humanism, ” Jean-Paul Sartre defends his philosophy, existentialism, against its critics by arguing that for human existence, precedes essence (20) because we have free will. Due to this, our essence is constructed through the actions we choose to take, so that one “is no more than the sum of his parts” (Sartre 37), making each person responsible for themself. Sartre argues that this leads to anguish - that people are responsible for not just

Sartre says "Man exists, turns up, appears on the scene, and only afterwards, defines himself". "In other wards, man first exists then he looks at the world, thinks" of it and acts in it as an individual." His contemplation and his actions are possible only because his existence: Existence, thus is the first principle from which all else flows. It is only later, by living , thinking and acting that man defines his nature and forms what is called his essence-that which he is and will be ." (2) Consequently, man is like a blank sheet. He never comes in the world as finished product, as readymade, as well defined, rather he defines himself in course of his life. Sartre believe that human existence is the result of chance or accident. There is no meaning or purpose of his life other than what his freedom creates , therefore, he must rely on his own resources.

Sartre proposes an interesting view on free will when he says, "either man is wholly determined or else man is wholly free." This quote shows us that Sartre believes that man is free to do what he wants. For Sartre, freedom is the most basic value, which renders possible all other values the way our fundamental plan precedes and grounds our small choices. In that sense freedom is the source of all values. It is not logically possible to make sense of human responsibility and notions of justice without a conception of free will. This is because it is free will that allows us as humans to choose and make the right decisions in life.

Libertarianism offers great amounts of individual freedom to the people governed under it. Whether it truly offers the greatest amount of freedom in comparison to other forms of political theory is highly debatable and very subjective in nature.

Libertarianism is a movement to end private and public slavery” (The Pith of Life). Libertarianism, although new as a political party in the United States of America, has been around for many centuries. Making its first known appearance in Ancient China and Israel, libertarianism has molded such bright minds of philosophers like John Locke, David Hume, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Adam Smith, etc. A few of the main elements of libertarianism in society are individualism, limited government, the rule of law, and peace. Libertarians believe that the individual is the basis of a just society. The individual is responsible for their own choices and actions. Libertarians have a progressive view on people, which dissolves all prejudice and this keeps the government from making life changing decisions for its people, such as the right to marriage or women’s equality. Many people believe libertarianism is the claim that people can do what they want, when they want to do it. This stance actually imposes the idea that people simply makes their own choices under a rule of law and respect others in their choices. Finally libertarians believe that peace is the ultimate goal and have fought the idea of war being necessary for ages. War destroys the economy and society of each party involved, and has shown favour on the ruling

For this essay I shall explain libertarianism in a general sense, observing its aims and ideals for society, what a government’s role is in this society and what common views libertarians may share. I will conclude with identifying a plausible form of this political philosophy based on the idealist merits it puts forward to form a society based on personal freedom. Libertarianism in a general sense is the view that every individual has the right to live their life in any which way they may choose, so long as they hold respect for the equal rights of others. A Libertarian government defends every individual’s right to life, liberty, and property, observing that all people hold this as a natural born right. Libertarians hold the view that, all individuals’ relationships should be voluntary; and the main actions that should be restricted and punishable by law are those that involve use of coercion against another or remove or impose on the rights of another in any such way.

Sartre’s argument for the claim that without God, a person is “nothing else but what he makes of himself,” is based in the Age of Forlornness. According to Sartre, the existence of God is impossible, since the very concept of God is contradictory, because it would be the achieved in-itself-for-itself. Therefore, if God does not exist, he has not created man according to an idea that fixes his essence, so that man meets his radical freedom. This theory has an ethical consequence in which Sartre affirms that values depend entirely on man and are his own creation. In the opinion of Sartre, man is condemned to be free and he is responsible for his freedom. He is condemned because he did not create himself, yet he is free because nothing nor no