When I chose to enrol in philosophy 1000, did I choose freely ? There are many arguments that say different things. The thing that sucks is that there is no clear answer, which is the same with most things to do with philosophy. But there are some with stronger arguments. Throughout this essay we will cover free will, Libertarianism, Determinism/Fatalism and compatibilism/soft determinism. Most events are determined however some are not. Through the use analytical procedures to do with these arguments we find that the standpoint of Soft Determinism on free will helps illuminate what exactly is free will and what we should be asking instead of the question “are we free”.
Free will by definition is the freedom to choose and not being determined …show more content…
Now when oedipus wa a child his parents were told a prophecy that spoke of taboo things such that oedipus would end up killing his father and then marrying his mother. Scared and shaken the parent brought oedipus to a nearby forest and left him there in hopes that they could avoid this prophecy. However without realization a couple from a neighboring city did come by and did raise oedipus. Later in life he heard about the prophecy and left his adopted adopted family in hopes he wouldn 't do this to his parents. Then when oedipus came across a neighbouring village he got in a quarrel with a stranger and ended up killing him (his father) and then marrying the now widow (his mother) (http://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Oedipus/oedipus.html). This is a perfect example of what philosophers call fatalism or determinism.Fatalism sometimes gets confused with determinism because from god 's view or a view above they look very similar. By definition, Fatalism is the belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable. Although related these are different views. Now determinism is by definition “ the doctrine that all events including human actions are ultimately determined by causes external to the will. Which pretty much means all things including human behaviour. Are causally determined in a manner that they could not be otherwise. To be more clear, certain causes lead …show more content…
However those are not the only one. For many after hearing those two arguments we just feel as if we are missing something and i agree. Now when reading these two arguments much like myself we tend to think that both seem right and at the same time both seem wrong. Based on the inconsistent triad and the principle of alternate possibilities we cannot rationally hold both the views of a libertarian and one of a determinist. (inconsistent triad = a set of three propositions, only two of which can be true at one time) (POAP = an action is free if and only if the person doing the thing could have done otherwise). but luckily for the fence sitters there is an argument for us. Now I would like to introduce a new argument that goes by the name of compatibilism. Compatibilists believe, somewhat like hard determinists, that the universe operates with law-like order, and that the past determines the future. Now however they also think there’s something different about *some* human actions - that some of the actions we take are really and truly free. With these two views combined we get a new view or argument known as soft determinism. This view believes that most things are determined. However we can call actions free only when the action comes from within ourselves. An example of this would be the difference between someone jumping of a building to someone being pushed off a building. Now
Free will by definition is the freedom to choose and not being determined …show more content…
Now when oedipus wa a child his parents were told a prophecy that spoke of taboo things such that oedipus would end up killing his father and then marrying his mother. Scared and shaken the parent brought oedipus to a nearby forest and left him there in hopes that they could avoid this prophecy. However without realization a couple from a neighboring city did come by and did raise oedipus. Later in life he heard about the prophecy and left his adopted adopted family in hopes he wouldn 't do this to his parents. Then when oedipus came across a neighbouring village he got in a quarrel with a stranger and ended up killing him (his father) and then marrying the now widow (his mother) (http://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Oedipus/oedipus.html). This is a perfect example of what philosophers call fatalism or determinism.Fatalism sometimes gets confused with determinism because from god 's view or a view above they look very similar. By definition, Fatalism is the belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable. Although related these are different views. Now determinism is by definition “ the doctrine that all events including human actions are ultimately determined by causes external to the will. Which pretty much means all things including human behaviour. Are causally determined in a manner that they could not be otherwise. To be more clear, certain causes lead …show more content…
However those are not the only one. For many after hearing those two arguments we just feel as if we are missing something and i agree. Now when reading these two arguments much like myself we tend to think that both seem right and at the same time both seem wrong. Based on the inconsistent triad and the principle of alternate possibilities we cannot rationally hold both the views of a libertarian and one of a determinist. (inconsistent triad = a set of three propositions, only two of which can be true at one time) (POAP = an action is free if and only if the person doing the thing could have done otherwise). but luckily for the fence sitters there is an argument for us. Now I would like to introduce a new argument that goes by the name of compatibilism. Compatibilists believe, somewhat like hard determinists, that the universe operates with law-like order, and that the past determines the future. Now however they also think there’s something different about *some* human actions - that some of the actions we take are really and truly free. With these two views combined we get a new view or argument known as soft determinism. This view believes that most things are determined. However we can call actions free only when the action comes from within ourselves. An example of this would be the difference between someone jumping of a building to someone being pushed off a building. Now