Transcript DETERMINISM VS. FREE WILL

DETERMINISM VS. FREE WILL
An ancient philosophical
conundrum
DETERMINISM =
The theory that every event, including
every human action, is governed by
natural laws.
Technically, determinism is the belief that a determinate
set of conditions can only produce one possible outcome
given fixed laws of nature.
Many believe this rules out HUMAN
FREEDOM.
DETERMINISM IS DIFFERENT
FROM FATALISM
• FATALISTS claim that
there is nothing that we
can do to affect our lives
in any significant way. For
example, I cannot in any
way affect whether I am
going to have a fatal
accident tomorrow.
• DETERMINISTS allow
that human actions can
make a difference.
• Fatalism often takes the
form of RELIGIOUS
PREDESTINATION
If determinism is true it would seem
that:
• We are no more free than
robots.
• There is no reason to
praise or blame anyone.
• It is wrong to punish
criminals--because they
“can’t help it”.
3 DIFFERENT POSITIONS ON
DETERMINISM:
1. Human beings have free will because
determinism is FALSE (‘libertarianism’).
2. Human beings do NOT have free will
because determinism is TRUE (‘hard
determinism’).
3. Even though determinism is TRUE,
human beings DO have free will (‘soft
determinism’).
Libertarianism
• Free will requires a gap in universal
causality.
• The self initiates actions but when acting
freely is not itself caused to do so.
• Human decision making thus occupies a
special place outside of the natural order.
NOTE: This is not the same as
‘libertarianism’ in political philosophy.
Objections to libertarianism
• The self would have to be non-physical,
yet capable of causing events. Does this
make sense?
• Even if it makes sense, what is the
evidence for it?
How to be a soft determinist
• A free act is just a VOLUNTARY act. It
issues from what the agent WANTS,
unconstrained psychologically or
physically.
• Acts can be ‘free’ in this sense but still
determined by natural laws. Determinism
is not a problem for those who take this
view.
If hard determinism is true…
• MORAL RESPONSIBILITY is undermined.
(‘Ought’ implies ‘can’.) Do praise, blame or
punishment make sense without moral
responsibility?
• Is RATIONALITY undermined? Can our
acts have reasons as well as causes?