Libertarianism

Question 1

Explain philosophical libertarianism with reference to Sartre

Answer 1

• Satre argued that humanity have complete control over their actions – we are conscious of our own freedom
• he states that ‘ there is no determinism – man is free, man is freedom’
• For satre there is no God and therefore no higher power controlling moral agents
• He argued that we are totally free to make decisions with one exception ‘ man is not free, not to be free’
• he believed that more agents can grasp their ability to make choices because humanity is ‘pour-soi’ (being for itself) unlike animals who are just ‘en so I’ (being in itself)
• The important difference is that ‘en so I’ beings are not conscious of themselves, whereas humanity has a consciousness
• such a believes this consciousness is what enables more agents to have free will, our consciousness enables the moral agent to think about the different possible features that might come from different actions
• Humans can stand back from their lives, interpret them in different ways which opens up a distance between a persons consciousness and the physical world, with its potentiality determining influences
• satre refers to this as the gap, which allows humans to have free well
• He acknowledges that freedom can bring pain and anguish: therefore more agents try to avoid the reality of their own freedom
• self deception creates a ‘bad faith’ ; an attempt to escape pain by pretending they are not free
• instead they pretend that they are determined by their character, situation or role

Question 2

Explain Satre’s waiter illustration

Answer 2

• satre uses the example of a cafe waiter
• The café waiter is doing his job, he is acting out the part of the waiter
• The waiter exaggerated behaviour illustrates that he is play acting as a waiter
• He has become a robot who essence is to be a waiter
• This particular role determines every action and attitude
• satre argues that the way the way is acting shows that he is ultimately aware that he is not merely a waiter but he’s choosing to deceive himself
• through Bad faith, the waiter denies his own freedom
• The waiter knows he is free and could give up being a waiter any time but freely chooses not to
• Sartre uses his existentialist views to explain his theory
• the theory states that our ‘existence comes before our essence’ meaning that we are not born with a particular predetermined nature but moral agents must create one for themselves
• by responding to the experiences of the world, they can really choose how they should live

Question 3

What does Sartre not deny?

Answer 3

• The inevitable contingencies of human life such as bringing physical characteristics
• These may appear to be restrictions, but that is of what the person has made of them – they are free to revise the choices they have made

Question 4

What two things does Sartre say that freedom is?

Answer 4

• for Sartre freedom is a gift and a curse
• The gift is that the moral agent always has freedom to make something out of that circumstances
• The curse is that this comes with the responsibility that a moral agent must shape their own lives; with total freedom comes total responsibility
• sartre believed that even those moral agents who wished have not taken responsibility for their actions such as the waiter are still making a free choice
• therefore, they are still responsible for anything that happens as a consequence of their actions

Question 5

Explain psychological libertarianism with reference to Carl rogers

Answer 5

• Rogers advanced the psychological school of humanism by stressing that the human person is an active, creative experiencing being who lives in the present and response freely to current perceptions, relationships and encounters
• He starts his theory by agreeing that immoral agent can be determined by external factors such as peer, parental, societal pressures
• However, Rogers rejected that these factors are permanent, he believes that the moral agent can achieve free well through a process Rogers called ‘self actualisation’
• this means acting on your true feelings

Question 6

3 elements children need to flourish

Answer 6

• what is argued that all children have their own ideas and thoughts about life such as politics, religion, and sexuality
  -according to Rogers, for such ideas to flourish the children need an environment that provides them with three elements:
• Genuineness: an open environment where they can freely disclose and explore their own ideas
• Acceptance: an open environment where they are given unconditional positive regard and love
• empathy: an environment where the child is understood by parents and significant others
• without these elements, Rogers believed that we could not develop a healthy free will
• when parents, peers and society disapprove of a child’s thoughts or feelings the child consider themselves to be a rebel and think they’re freely willed feelings are wrong
• they reject who they really are and acting away others want them to act e.g. may be homosexual but bury these self willed feelings
• how a person can regain their own well through the process of ‘self actualisation’

Answer 7

• self actualisation involves the moral agent getting in touch with their own feelings and acting on them
• believed this was a personal journey that is unique to everyone
• Rogers believed that if a person acted on their own willed feelings, then the agent breaks the chain of determinism and can act freely
• it is only when the agent achieves self actualisation and freedom that they can fulfil the potential and achieve the highest level of ‘human beingness’