QUESTION 5

 

You are defending someone accused of robbing a bank.  It’s already been shown that they actually committed the robbery – for one thing your client confessed, and the confession is backed up by footage from a security camera.  In short, there’s no doubt they did it.

Your goal is to argue that even though they physically committed the act, they are not responsible, since they were not acting freely.  Your defense should focus on the the concepts of determinism and incompatibilism, as set forth in the Week 9 handout, attached here: 2023-04-17 – Free will.docx

In short, I want you to explain why determinism, combined with the conception of freedom that underlies incompatibilism, supports the conclusion that your client was not acting freely when they robbed the bank.

Don’t worry whether appeals to determinism and incompatibilism would actually work in a court of law.  Let’s assume that, in this case, the judge agreed to consider your argument.

Your essay should be 300-500 words.

 

 

QUESTION 6

 

Please write an essay in which you answer the following questions:

Sandra just experienced a tragedy – her very close loved one died of a terrible illness.  (1) Drawing on our discussion of the problem of evil, how might Sandra invoke that experience in an argument that God does not exist?  (2) Drawing on our discussion of the responses to the problem of evil, how would you defend the existence of God against this argument?  That is, how would you argue that even though this tragedy happened, it does not mean there is no God.

Your essay should not exceed 500 words, and should draw on the concepts and arguments we discussed in our last class, and that are set forth in the Week 11 handout: 2023-04-17 – Does God Exist.docx

Note: I am not asking you to say whether you believe in God.  I’m just asking you to set out the argument against such a belief, and then a response to that argument.

 

 

Your essays must be 100% in your own words.  You should also not use material that you find online –   Plagiarism – copying and pasting another person’s work as your answer, whether from online or elsewhere, will result in a 0 for the exam.  (This includes copying and pasting from a site online and just changing a bunch of the words.)