Cows Are Suey

This source explores the concept of free will and its relationship to determinism, arguing that the prominence given to free will in philosophical debates reflects a bias. It critiques the idea of Causa Sui, or a self-caused cause, as necessary for true responsibility and thus free will. The author suggests that our actions stem from the way we are, a state for which we cannot be fundamentally responsible, drawing on arguments from philosophers like Galen Strawson. The piece concludes by examining quarantine justification theory as an alternative to punishment, proposing that actions, like those of a programmed robot, might be better understood as requiring containment rather than blame or retribution, highlighting the difficulty in justifying traditional incarceration models when individuals are not seen as ultimately responsible for their behaviour.https://philosophics.blog/2022/05/17/cows-are-suey/