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Libero Arbitrio e Retributivà
The paper is organized in three parts. In the first part, the author specifies a certain notion of free will—free will as "ultimate self-determination"—and argues that it is a conceptual illusion. In the second part, he argues, against P.F. Strawson, that the recognition of the illusory character of that notion of free will is not inconsequential for the justification of our present moral practices. Such a recognition forces us to abandon the retributive conception of punishment. In the last part, he argues—again against Strawson—that the abandonment of the retributive conception of punishment does not obviously amount to the loss of a “vital part” of our moral life. On the contrary, there are independent moral reasons for leaving it behind.