Why do we call Mozart a creative genius? He created his music, but do we also think that he created himself? How do we determine who deserves praise as an artist? What about athletes? What standards do we use - do they involve a strong notion of free will that’s incompatible with determinism? If not, why should we think that moral praise and blame require agents to act with that sort of free will? David and Tamler argue over how much we can learn about moral responsibility from our responsibility practices in the domains of arts and sports. Plus, it’s Halloween – time to rev up the campus culture wars. Do concerns about “cultural appropriation” amount to a “war on Halloween”?

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Links:

• Oregon Student Government: Dressing Up as Any Character Is Cultural Appropriation, Not Okay - Hit & Run : Reason.com
• Russell, P. (2008). Free will, art and morality. The Journal of ethics, 12(3-4), 307-325. [academia.edu]
• Infernal Affairs - Wikipedia
• Paul Gauguin - Wikipedia