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Free Will and Determinism
Quick questions on Free Will, Responsibility and Punishment - TCE Philosophy (Tasmania)
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What is determinism as a legal defence?Show answer
A recurring question is whether determinism could function as a legal defence: if my crime was the inevitable result of prior causes, can I plead that I am not responsible? Most philosophers and legal systems reject a blanket appeal to determinism, since if it excused one act it would excuse every act, dissolving responsibility entirely and making law unworkable. The law instead recognises specific excusing conditions, such as insanity, coercion or lack of capacity, which mark cases where the action did not issue from the agent in the normal rational way. This mirrors the compatibilist distinction between being caused, which is universal, and being compelled or incapacitated, which excuses.
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