Philosophy Master thesis

I wrote my Philosophy Master thesis under supervision of Pieter Pekelharing. The thesis has been published in the library of the University of Amsterdam.

A revision of the concept and practice of moral responsibility

I argue that scientific insights into the factors that determine our behavior should alter our ideas about moral responsibility.

In the first part of my thesis, I try to define our current concept of moral responsibility by discussing theories in philosophy, experimental philosophy and criminal law. In the second part, my aim is to show the insights in neuroscience and social, moral and clinical psychology about the way our behavior is caused. In the last part of my thesis, I propose a new definition of moral responsibility and I try to show what this new concept means for our daily life and punishment system.

I conclude that according to me, it is necessary to revise our concept and practices of moral responsibility to arrive at a more fair and scientific informed society.