Brent Knutzen
Dr. Evangelist
PHL-150
24 April 2015
Free will
Free will is the ability to act using one’s own discretion. Since the beginnings of philosophical thought, philosophers have had consistent debate and discussion as to whether or not we have free will, and if we do, to what extent. Free will is a characteristic that most assume to be an innate trait of all humans. However, after further reflection of the idea, it is difficult to decipher what decisions are made based upon free will, and which are made based off of preconceived circumstances that are determined by the natural world. Those who examine the determinist and indeterminist belief systems see the argument as very polar—we either have the free will and the ability to make …show more content…
It takes far too harsh of a stance on free will and overlooks the reality that there is no such thing as absolute freedom. If there was, the universe would follow in chaos, and nothing would make the slightest sense. People’s actions would be unreasonable and spontaneous, and the world would be purposeless. The compatibilist argument seeks to describe freedom as, “a power or ability to do something,” rather than the power to do something absolutely free of outside influence (Kane). Deciding whether or not to wake up for an early class is in fact a very good example of the compatibilist perspective, as I have the “power or ability to do something,” in light of the fact that I know what outside factors have an impact on my decision (Kane). Compatibilists in fact argue that, “Being free requires critical self-evaluation and adjustment so that we make decisions based on the desires and values we want to act on and have good reason to act on,” …show more content…
When viewed through a determinist lens free will seems impossible. For free will to be true one would have to deny the idea that that all events have predetermined outcomes from previous events. The compatibilist perspective takes into account the ideas of determinism, and free will, and explains that both are possible as the ideas described in determinism are merely influences we are aware of when we make our own free decisions. The problem with compatibilism is that it’s description of free will does not follow the definition of freedom, as there are still outside factors that play a role into ones decision making, that restrict decisions from being truly free. This objection however uses a far too strict definition of free will. The main basis of compatibilism stems from the idea that one makes free decisions with an awareness of the outside influencing factors that weigh on those
Dr. Evangelist
PHL-150
24 April 2015
Free will
Free will is the ability to act using one’s own discretion. Since the beginnings of philosophical thought, philosophers have had consistent debate and discussion as to whether or not we have free will, and if we do, to what extent. Free will is a characteristic that most assume to be an innate trait of all humans. However, after further reflection of the idea, it is difficult to decipher what decisions are made based upon free will, and which are made based off of preconceived circumstances that are determined by the natural world. Those who examine the determinist and indeterminist belief systems see the argument as very polar—we either have the free will and the ability to make …show more content…
It takes far too harsh of a stance on free will and overlooks the reality that there is no such thing as absolute freedom. If there was, the universe would follow in chaos, and nothing would make the slightest sense. People’s actions would be unreasonable and spontaneous, and the world would be purposeless. The compatibilist argument seeks to describe freedom as, “a power or ability to do something,” rather than the power to do something absolutely free of outside influence (Kane). Deciding whether or not to wake up for an early class is in fact a very good example of the compatibilist perspective, as I have the “power or ability to do something,” in light of the fact that I know what outside factors have an impact on my decision (Kane). Compatibilists in fact argue that, “Being free requires critical self-evaluation and adjustment so that we make decisions based on the desires and values we want to act on and have good reason to act on,” …show more content…
When viewed through a determinist lens free will seems impossible. For free will to be true one would have to deny the idea that that all events have predetermined outcomes from previous events. The compatibilist perspective takes into account the ideas of determinism, and free will, and explains that both are possible as the ideas described in determinism are merely influences we are aware of when we make our own free decisions. The problem with compatibilism is that it’s description of free will does not follow the definition of freedom, as there are still outside factors that play a role into ones decision making, that restrict decisions from being truly free. This objection however uses a far too strict definition of free will. The main basis of compatibilism stems from the idea that one makes free decisions with an awareness of the outside influencing factors that weigh on those