The Problem of Free Will: Libertarianism The problem of free will discusses whether or not there is free will and moral responsibility in one’s actions. Causal determinism, the idea that physical events and actions have physical causes, plays a main role in this debate because it determines whether a person has control over their actions (G. Tiller, personal communication, October 2015). In hard determinism, there is only causal determinism so, a person has no control over the choices they make because all decisions are predetermined, thus there is no free will or moral responsibility. In soft determinism, causal determinism exists and is compatible with free will through the difference between unfree and free acts, so free will and moral
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Out of the three perspectives, this one allows the most free will and moral responsibility since it is indicating that the person making the decision is in control of what they choose. In libertarianism, it is believed that there are two types of causation, the second type being the reasoning behind a person’s free choice. Chisholm (1982) describes, “When one event or state of affairs…causes some other event or state of affairs, then we have an instance of transeunt causation. And I shall say that when an agent, as distinguished from an event, causes an event or state of affairs, then we have an instance of immanent causation” (p. 28). Immanent causation is the reason a person has the ability to chose based on his or her desires since he or she is the agent causing the decision. One reason I believe that it is plausible for a person to have this ability is because most people feel in control of their actions. When Taylor (1963) begins his discussion of the theory of agency, he states, “When I believe that I have done something, I do believe that it was I who caused it to be done” (p. 51). In my understanding of the perspective, the ‘I’ Taylor is referring to is considered the ‘agent’ that has the ability to cause events, showing that people feel they control their actions each time they make a decision. Another reason I believe in libertarianism is because an agent controlling the body directly relates to the theory of substance dualism, which states that there is a substance interacting with the body. As a believer in substance dualism and the fact that I feel I control my choices, I believe libertarianism is the best solution to the free will
Out of the three perspectives, this one allows the most free will and moral responsibility since it is indicating that the person making the decision is in control of what they choose. In libertarianism, it is believed that there are two types of causation, the second type being the reasoning behind a person’s free choice. Chisholm (1982) describes, “When one event or state of affairs…causes some other event or state of affairs, then we have an instance of transeunt causation. And I shall say that when an agent, as distinguished from an event, causes an event or state of affairs, then we have an instance of immanent causation” (p. 28). Immanent causation is the reason a person has the ability to chose based on his or her desires since he or she is the agent causing the decision. One reason I believe that it is plausible for a person to have this ability is because most people feel in control of their actions. When Taylor (1963) begins his discussion of the theory of agency, he states, “When I believe that I have done something, I do believe that it was I who caused it to be done” (p. 51). In my understanding of the perspective, the ‘I’ Taylor is referring to is considered the ‘agent’ that has the ability to cause events, showing that people feel they control their actions each time they make a decision. Another reason I believe in libertarianism is because an agent controlling the body directly relates to the theory of substance dualism, which states that there is a substance interacting with the body. As a believer in substance dualism and the fact that I feel I control my choices, I believe libertarianism is the best solution to the free will