Free Will and Libertarianism

Question 1

Hospers

Answer 1

tuna fish salad and a blueberry pie
‘the example is of course absurd, but may it not be that there is some combination of factors that regularly lead to homicide? when theses are discovered it will be foolish, pointless and immoral to hold people responsible for their crime”

Question 2

St Pauls letters on predestination

Answer 2

‘For those god foreknew he also predestined, for those he predestined he also called, for those he called he also justified; for those he justified he also glorified’

Question 3

Calvin on predestination

Answer 3

‘he does not create everyone in the same condition, he ordains eternal life for some and eternal damnation for others’

Question 4

Jesus on predestination

Answer 4

‘many are called but few are chosen’ Matthew

Question 5

Background to predestination

Answer 5

Martin Luther

Calvin

Question 6

dictionary definition of predestination

Answer 6

1. the act of predestining or the condition of being predestined
2. theology
   a] the doctrine that god has foreordained all things; especially that God has elected certain souls to eternal salvation.
   b] The divine decree foreordaining all souls to either salvation or damnation

Question 7

Aquinas on free will

Answer 7

‘Man chooses not of neccessity but freely’

Question 8

Conclusion for essay

Answer 8

• HD challenges the possibility to lead the good life.
• While some religions have traditions of predetermination within them and even elements of fate, for the most part human freedom to do go, to turn to god for instance, seems important.
• At the same time libertarianism, as the individuals right to chose , does not fit with the idea that religion has moral codes which must be followed.

Question 9

When are you not free, if you believe in free will

Answer 9

1] loss of reason - problems with control and understanding e.g. Sz may be delusional etc
2] loss of volition- problems with impulse control e.g. Tourettes
3] Addiction- the individual originally makes the choice, however once addicted, arguably, there decisions are not pure and 1000% freely made.

Question 10

Warburton on free will

Answer 10

A world in which we have freedom to choose, even if we choose wrong, is better than a world on strings

Question 11

Religious view on free will

Answer 11

Theolgy: good god gave humans power over their actions (free agents) and held them responsible for their actions, humans will face divine retribution for their actions at death

Question 12

Locks example on Hard determanism

Answer 12

man asleep in a locked room, believes he is free to leave until he tries

Question 13

Honderich

Answer 13

‘all our choices, decisions, actions, intentions, other mental events are no more effects of other equally neccesitated events’

Question 14

Hume

Answer 14

‘if we choose to remain at rest , we do, if we choose to move, we do’

Question 15

Plato

Answer 15

‘your destiny shall not be allotted to you, you shall choose it for yousrelf’

Question 16

C S Lewis

Answer 16

‘we all have a choice, but it makes a difference whether you act like Judas or John’

Question 17

Galworthy

Answer 17

‘life is a tune, we dance’

Question 18

Gohraba

Answer 18

‘people are naturally born libertarian until societies and democracies force them to change’

Question 19

Freud

Answer 19

“Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.”

Question 20

Kennedy

Answer 20

“Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan”

Question 21

Kane

Answer 21

we have many character traits which have developed undetermanistically

Question 22

Soft determinism

Answer 22

In contrast to hard determinism (which claims that determinism is incompatible with freedom), soft determinism says that we are determined and are nonetheless still free. According to the soft determinist, when the individual is the cause of his or her actions, he or she is said to act freely.

Compatibilism or soft determinism acknowledges that all events, including human actions, have causes; but it allows for free actions when the actions are caused by one’s choices rather than external forces.