have i got any choice? - dialogue education

Free Will versus Determinism

Have I got any choice?

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Dialogue Education

Update 2

1

Contents • Page 3 - Video Presentation outlining the Free Will/Determinism debate

• Pages 4 to 5 - Free Will

• Page 6 - Fundamental questions in the debate

• Page 8 - Determinism

• Page 9 - Libertarianism

• Pages 10 to 11 - Compatibilism

• Page 12 - Incompatibilism

• Page 13 - Overview map

• Pages14 to 16 - Moral Responsibility

• Pages 17 to 21 - Science and the Free Will debate

• Pages 23 to 24 - Eastern Philosophy

• Page 25 - Jewish Philosophy

• Page 26 - Islamic Philosophy

• Pages 27 to 28 - Christian philosophy

• Page 30 - Community of Inquiry Stimulus Material

• Page 31 - Bibliography

2

You Tube Presentation on

Free Will / Determinism debate • Click on the

image to the

left. You will

need to be

connected to

the internet to

view this

presentation.

• Enlarge to full

screen

3

Free Will versus Determinism

The question of free will is

whether, and in what sense,

rational agents exercise control

over their actions and

decisions.

4

Free Will versus Determinism

•The principle of free

will has religious,

ethical, and scientific

implications.

5

Free Will vs Determinism

The basic philosophical positions on the problem of free will can be divided in accordance with the answers they provide to two questions:

1.Is determinism true?

2.Does free will exist?

6

Determinism

7

Determinism

Determinism is a broad term with a variety of meanings. Corresponding to each of these different meanings, there arises a different problem of free will. .

8

Libertarianism

Libertarianism is the view

that humans have free will ,

and that we have the

freedom to choose what we

want, and that our choices

are not pre-determined.

9

Compatibilism

Compatibilists

maintain that

determinism is

compatible with

free will. 10

Compatibilism

William James' views were

ambivalent. While he believed

in free will on "ethical grounds,"

he did not believe that there

was evidence for it on scientific

grounds, nor did his own

introspections support it.

11

"Hard determinists", such

as d'Holbach, are those

incompatibilists who

accept determinism and

reject free will.

Incompatibilism

12

A Diagram showing the Different stances in relation to Determinism and Free will

13

Moral responsibility

• Society generally holds

people responsible for their

actions, and will say that

they deserve praise or

blame for what they do.

14

Moral responsibility

Jean-Paul Sartre argues that

people sometimes avoid

incrimination and

responsibility by hiding behind

determinism: " 15

Moral responsibility

• Compatibilists argue, on the

contrary, that determinism is a

prerequisite for moral

responsibility. Society cannot

hold someone responsible

unless his actions were

determined by something. •16

Science…

The most extreme determinists

are mostly scientists, such as

Richard Dawkins. One

argument against determinism

focuses on science and free

will in relation to it.

17

Physics

• Early scientific thought often

portrayed the universe as

deterministic, and some thinkers

claimed that the simple process of

gathering sufficient information

would allow them to predict future

events with perfect accuracy.

18

Genetics

Like physicists, biologists have

frequently addressed questions

related to free will. One of the

most heated debates in biology is

that of "nature versus nurture",

concerning the relative

importance of genetics and

biology as compared to culture

and environment in human

behaviour.

19

Neuroscience

• It has become possible to

study the living brain, and

researchers can now watch

the brain's decision-making

"machinery" at work.

20

Experimental psychology

Experimental psychology’s contributions to the free will debate have come primarily through social psychologist Daniel Wegner's work on conscious will. In his book, The Illusion of Conscious Will Wegner summarizes empirical evidence supporting the view that human perception of conscious control is an illusion.

21

22

In Eastern

philosophy

In Hindu philosophy

• The six orthodox (astika) schools of thought in Hindu philosophy do not agree with each other entirely on the question of free will. For the Samkhya, for instance, matter is without any freedom, and soul lacks any ability to control the unfolding of matter.

23

In Eastern philosophy

In Buddhist philosophy

Buddhism accepts both freedom and

determinism (or something similar to

it), but rejects the idea of an agent, and

thus the idea that freedom is a free will

belonging to an agent.

24

In Jewish Philosophy

• Jewish philosophy

stresses that free will is

a product of the

intrinsic human soul.

25

In Islamic Philosophy

• Free will, according to Shia Islamic

doctrine is the main factor for man's

accountability in his/her actions

throughout life. All actions taken by

man's free will are said to be counted

on the Day of Judgement because

they are his/her own and not God's.

26

In Christian

Philosophy

• The theological doctrine of

divine foreknowledge is

often alleged to be in

conflict with free will,

particularly in Reformed

circles. 27

In Christian Philosophy

• The philosopher Søren

Kierkegaard claimed that

divine omnipotence cannot

be separated from divine

goodness.

28

Is there any freedom for an actor

on a stage in time and space?

Does existence as

physical entities in time

and space allow any

genuine choices?

29

A community of Inquiry on Free

Will vs Determinism • CLICK ON THIS

LINK FOR THE

STIMULUS FOR A

DISCUSSION ON

THE PROBLEM

OF FREE WILL

(You might like to

print this material

out and distribute it

to the class.)

30

Bibliography • Bischof, Michael H. (2004). Kann ein Konzept der Willensfreiheit auf das Prinzip der alternativen Möglichkeiten

verzichten? Harry G. Frankfurts Kritik am Prinzip der alternativen Möglichkeiten (PAP). In: Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung (ZphF), Heft 4.

• Dennett, Daniel . (2003). Freedom Evolves New York: Viking Press ISBN 0-670-03186-0

• Epstein J.M. (1999). Agent Based Models and Generative Social Science. Complexity, IV (5).

• Gazzaniga, M. & Steven, M.S. (2004) Free Will in the 21st Century: A Discussion of Neuroscience and Law, in Garland, B. (ed.) Neuroscience and the Law: Brain, Mind and the Scales of Justice, New York: Dana Press, ISBN 1932594043, pp51–70.

• Goodenough, O.R. (2004) Responsibility and punishment, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences (Special Issue: Law and the Brain), 359, 1805–1809.

• Hofstadter, Douglas. (2007) I Am A Strange Loop. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0465030781

• Kane, Robert (1998). The Significance of Free Will. New York: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-512656-4

• Lawhead, William F. (2005). The Philosophical Journey: An Interactive Approach. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages ISBN 0-07-296355-7.

• Libet, Benjamin; Anthony Freeman; and Keith Sutherland, eds. (1999). The Volitional Brain: Towards a Neuroscience of Free Will. Exeter, UK: Imprint Academic. Collected essays by scientists and philosophers.

• Morris, Tom Philosophy for Dummies. IDG Books ISBN 0-7645-5153-1.

• Muhm, Myriam (2004). Abolito il libero arbitrio - Colloquio con Wolf Singer. L'Espresso 19.08.2004 http://www.larchivio.org/xoom/myriam-singer.htm

• Nowak A., Vallacher R.R., Tesser A., Borkowski W. (2000). Society of Self: The emergence of collective properties in self-structure. Psychological Review. 107

• Schopenhauer Arthur (1839). On the Freedom of the Will., Oxford: Basil Blackwell ISBN 0-631-14552-4.

• Van Inwagen, Peter (1986). An Essay on Free Will. New York: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-824924-1.

• Velmans, Max (2003) How Could Conscious Experiences Affect Brains? Exeter: Imprint Academic ISBN 0907845-39-8.

• Wegner, D. (2002). The Illusion of Conscious Will. Cambridge: Bradford Books

• Williams, Clifford (1980). Free Will and Determinism: A Dialogue. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co.

• Wikipedia- Free Will- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_will 31