Free Will In Riddles Of Existence, Conee And Sider

In Riddles of Existence, Conee and Sider go over the description of free will. In this paper I will be discussing the problems of free will and also the determinist, libertarian, and compatibilist responses to this problem. I will also be mentioning some benefits and drawbacks of each position and the responses of a few philosophers. Free will consists of two beliefs. Belief one believes you have free will and the main point of belief one is that most people can act freely. Therefore, there are many reasons why people choose to believe in belief one. The first reason is everyday we feel very much as if we are free and the second reason is that many practices assume that we are free. Belief two states that every event has a cause. An example of belief two would be the cause of the window breaking is someone throwing a rock at it. Here are a …show more content…
A determinist is an incompatible response and a determinist disagrees with belief one and holds on to belief two. Determinist believers argue that the act of being “free” is simply just a mere illusion. Determinism is a problem because it is very difficult to defend and stand by. A determinist’s argument is basically saying that we cannot hold anyone responsible for his or her actions. An example from Conee and Sider was the “punch to the face”. In this scenario, someone punched you in the face, but you may not hold him or her responsible for that action, because an event led to the cause of the punch to the face. However, there are some benefits for determinists. Some benefits are that, it solves the problem; it is scientific and it is not mysterious. There are also many drawbacks for determinism. The first one being it goes completely against the “phenomenology.” Phenomenology is the human’s consciousness and self-awareness. Secondly, the punch to the face example, and finally, it tends to leave institutions such as the law and education in need of fundamental