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“Although we are always influenced by brain or mental events to form the intentions we do, sometimes (and in particular when we are taking difficult moral decisions) no such events fully determine those intentions. We have a certain freedom to form intentions to act independently of all the influences to which we are subject, which I shall call ‘free will’ [...] given that that is our situation, we are often morally responsible for our actions—guilty and deserving blame for doing what we believe wrong, meritorious and deserving praise for doing what we believe to be good actions beyond obligation.” — Richard Swinburne
Although we are always influenced by brain or mental events to form the intentions we do, sometimes (and in particular when we are taking difficult moral decisions) no such events fully determine those intentions. We have a certain freedom to form intentions to act independently of all the influences to which we are subject, which I shall call ‘free will’ [...] given that that is our situation, we are often morally responsible for our actions—guilty and deserving blame for doing what we believe wrong, meritorious and deserving praise for doing what we believe to be good actions beyond obligation.