free will

• there are three sources of a person's moral awareness in telling right from wrong:

  • an innate moral sense
  • social context
  • religious morality
• free will = the ability to make reasoned + conscious choices even though there may be limited or influences on them
• (for reference in exams) compatibilism is sometimes referred to as soft determinism
• people who would fail understand the difference between right and wrong:

  • babies + young children; those with severe learning difficulties
  • those suffering from dementia or other serious mental illnesses
  • those under extreme pressure

  thus, the exceptions to knowledge of the good are:

  • those who have not yet learnt it
  • those who cannot understand it
  • those who have permanently/temporarily forgotten it