Locke on Responsibility

Abstract

It is widely admitted that when someone is morally responsible for an action,(1) the action must be none other than her action, i.e., the action must be ascribable to her, and (2) the action must be alternative when she did it. About the first condition Locke says someone is morally responsible for an action only if it is the effect of her volition. But it is still to be asked how her volition can be identified with herself. About the second condition Locke doesn't seem to say something explicitly. This paper is addressed to these two conditions in Locke's theory of responsibility.