I completely agree that factory farming is a moral atrocity, and it would be far better if we could reduce or eliminate the harm we cause to these animals.
Your post got me thinking about individual moral responsibility and free will. My question: Do you think we need to have free will (the ability to have acted differently) in order to have individual moral responsibility? If our actions are determined or influenced by factors beyond our control, can we still be held morally responsible for them? Curious to hear your thoughts!
I don’t think the concept of moral responsibility in the way I use it requires judgment (i.e., I wouldn’t want to hold someone morally responsible for the sake of their responsibility). Rather, I think moral responsibility here should act as a vehicle to determine where change needs to happen—I think this aligns with my understanding of consequentialism too—in which case, there is no apparent need for free will. Hope this makes sense!
Thanks for sharing Kevin!
I completely agree that factory farming is a moral atrocity, and it would be far better if we could reduce or eliminate the harm we cause to these animals.
Your post got me thinking about individual moral responsibility and free will. My question: Do you think we need to have free will (the ability to have acted differently) in order to have individual moral responsibility? If our actions are determined or influenced by factors beyond our control, can we still be held morally responsible for them? Curious to hear your thoughts!
I don’t think the concept of moral responsibility in the way I use it requires judgment (i.e., I wouldn’t want to hold someone morally responsible for the sake of their responsibility). Rather, I think moral responsibility here should act as a vehicle to determine where change needs to happen—I think this aligns with my understanding of consequentialism too—in which case, there is no apparent need for free will. Hope this makes sense!