A Buddhist Reductionist Theory of Moral Responsibility and Freedom

Abstract

In this paper, I attempt to suggest a possible Buddhist answer to the problem of determinism and free will. The argument will be that a Buddhist who is committed to mereological reductionism can give a compatibilist account of the problem by drawing upon the distinction between conventional and ultimate truth and Frankfurtian approach to moral responsibility and free will. I first introduce van Inwagens renowned Consequence Argument for clarifying the problems at issue and briefly discuss possible options a Buddhist can take regarding the argument. I then summarize some previous attempts to provide a Buddhist answer to the problem of determinism and free will, and lay out what I consider to be right or wrong about their arguments. The discussion mainly deals with Goodmans hard determinist approach, and Siderits paleocompatibilism.