PHIL 272
Free Will and Responsibility Spring 2025
Division II W Writing Skills
Cross-listed JLST 272

Class Details

Our practice of holding people responsible seems justified as long as their choices are free. But when does a choice qualify as free? We’re all deeply influenced by factors ranging from the general laws of nature to specific features of our genetic endowment and social environment (including religion, political ideology, and advertising). These affect not only our particular choices but also, more fundamentally, who we are and what we value. The key question, then, is whether, and how, agency is possible amidst all of these influences. We’ll attempt to answer this question by examining recent philosophical work on the nature of free will and responsibility.
The Class: Format: tutorial
Limit: 10
Expected: 10
Class#: 3525
Grading: no pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: Six tutorial papers (5-6 pages in length) and five critiques (2-3 pages in length)
Prerequisites: one PHIL course (or permission of instructor; please email with any questions)
Enrollment Preferences: current and prospective Philosophy majors
Distributions: Divison II Writing Skills
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
PHIL 272 Division II JLST 272 Division II
WS Notes: Students will write a tutorial paper (5-6 pages in length) every other week, and a peer critique (2-3 pages in length) in alternating weeks, evenly spaced throughout the semester. The instructor will provide timely comments on writing skills, with suggestions for improvement.
Attributes: JLST Theories of Justice/Law
PHIL Contemporary Value Theory Courses

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