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155The importance of Frankfurt-style argumentPhilosophical Quarterly 57 (228). 2007.I reply to the challenges to Frankfurt-style compatibilism about causal determinism and moral responsibility presented in Daniel Speak's paper 'The Impertinence of Frankfurt-Style Argument'. I seek to show how Speak's critiques rest on an 'all-or-nothing' attitude in various ways, and I attempt to defend the importance of Frankfurt-style argumentation in defence of compatibilism
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42The inevitableAustralasian Journal of Philosophy 70 (4). 1992.This Article does not have an abstract
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224The evil of death and the Lucretian symmetry: a reply to FeldmanPhilosophical Studies 163 (3): 783-789. 2013.In previous work we have defended the deprivation account of death’s badness against worries stemming from the Lucretian point that prenatal and posthumous nonexistence are deprivations of the same sort. In a recent article in this journal, Fred Feldman has offered an insightful critique of our Parfitian strategy for defending the deprivation account of death’s badness. Here we adjust, clarify, and defend our strategy for reply to Lucretian worries on behalf of the deprivation account
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536The Frankfurt cases: The moral of the storiesPhilosophical Review 119 (3): 315-336. 2010.The Frankfurt cases have been thought by some philosophers to show that moral responsibility does not require genuine metaphysical access to alternative possibilities. But various philosophers have rejected this putative "lesson" of the cases, and they have put forward a powerful "Dilemma Defense." In the last decade or so, many philosophers have been persuaded by the Dilemma Defense that the Frankfurt cases do not show what Frankfurt (and others) thought they show. This essay presents a templat…Read more
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89The deterministic horn of the dilemma defence: a reply to Widerker and GoetzAnalysis 73 (3): 489-496. 2013.I have argued that a proponent of the Frankfurt Cases as showing that the Principle of Alternative Possibilities is false can successfully reply to the Dilemma Defense. In their 2013 paper, Widerker and Goetz offer a critique of my view, especially as regards the deterministic horn of the dilemma. Here I clarify my strategy of response to the Dilemma Defense and reply to the critique developed by Widerker and Goetz
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80The Evil of Death: A Reply to YiPhilosophia 42 (3): 741-748. 2014.In previous work we have presented a reply to the Lucretian Symmetry, which has it that it is rational to have symmetric attitudes toward prenatal and posthumous nonexistence. Our reply relies on Parfit-style thought-experiments. Here we reply to a critique of our approach by Huiyuhl Yi, which appears in this journal: Brueckner and Fischer on the evil of death. We argue that this critique fails to attend to the specific nature of the thought-experiments (and our associated argument). More specif…Read more
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41Soft facts and Harsh realities: Reply to William Craig: John Martin FischerReligious Studies 27 (4): 523-539. 1991.. In a number of papers I have sought to discuss and cast some doubt on a certain strategy of response to an argument that purports to show that God's foreknowledge is incompatible with human freedom. This argument proceeds from the alleged ‘fixity of the past’ to the conclusion that God's foreknowledge is incompatible with human freedom. William Lane Craig has criticized my approach to these issues. Here I should like to respond to some of Craig's claims. My goal is to attempt to achieve a clea…Read more
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282Semicompatibilism and Its RivalsThe Journal of Ethics 16 (2): 117-143. 2012.In this paper I give an overview of my “framework for moral responsibility,” and I offer some reasons that commend it. I contrast my approach with indeterministic models of moral responsibility and also other compatibilist strategies, including those of Harry Frankfurt and Gary Watson
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48Stories and the Meaning of LifePhilosophic Exchange 39 (1). 2009.This paper argues that the value of acting freely and responsibly is a species of the value of self-expression. When I act freely, I write a sentence in the story of my life, and this gives my life the shape of a narrative, which, in turn, gives my life a unique sort of meaning and value.
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79Recent Work on God and FreedomAmerican Philosophical Quarterly 29 (2). 1992.This is a survey of recent work on God and human freedom. A version of the "basic" argument for the incompatibility of God's omniscience and human freedom is presented. Various possible responses are developed and discussed
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86Reply: The free will revolutionPhilosophical Explorations 8 (2). 2005.This Article does not have an abstract
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204Responsibility, control, and omissionsThe Journal of Ethics 1 (1): 45-64. 1997.Previously, I have argued that moral responsibility for actions is associated with guidance control. This sort of control does not necessarily involve the freedom to do otherwise. In this paper I extend the view to apply to omissions. That is, moral responsibility for an omission is associated with guidance control of that omission. This helps to provide a systematic, unified account of moral responsibility.
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92Responsibility, Freedom, and Reason:Freedom Within Reason. Susan WolfEthics 102 (2): 368-. 1992.
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3214. Responsibility for ConsequencesIn John Martin Fischer & Mark Ravizza (eds.), Perspectives on moral responsibility, Cornell University Press. pp. 322-348. 1993.
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369Responsibility and manipulationThe Journal of Ethics 8 (2): 145-177. 2004.I address various critiques of the approach to moral responsibility sketched in previous work by Ravizza and Fischer. I especially focus on the key issues pertaining to manipulation.
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174Responsibility and self-expressionThe Journal of Ethics 3 (4): 277-297. 1999.I present two different models of moral responsibility -- two different accounts of what we value in behavior for which the agent can legitimately be held morally responsible. On the first model, what we value is making a certain sort of difference to the world. On the second model, which I favor, we value a certain kind of self-expression. I argue that if one adopts the self-expression view, then one will be inclined to accept that moral responsibility need not require alternative possibilities…Read more
Areas of Specialization
Metaphysics and Epistemology |
Value Theory |
Areas of Interest
Metaphysics and Epistemology |
Value Theory |