ABSTRACT
If our actions are determined by our characters, and we have no control over what characters we have, are we responsible for our actions? If our behaviour is governed by causal laws, are we responsible? Determinism is the thesis that every event is the consequence of universal laws acting on prior events, and if it is true, it seems to undermine responsibility (Honderich, 1993). If I am only responsible for those actions where I could have acted otherwise, how can I act otherwise if my actions are determined by antecedent conditions and causal laws? I can only act otherwise if I violate causal laws (which I cannot as they are universally true). The existence of the causal laws seems to rule out responsibility.
