Congo Free State

contradiction. As previously stated, they believe that everything is determined. However, the Stoics do believe that certain things are up to us in a very specific way. Stoic philosopher Aulus Gellius explains the concept of “up to us” in depth. He states “...although, he said, it is true that by fate all things are forced and linked by a necessary and dominant reason, …the character of our mind is subject to fate in a manner corresponding to their nature and quality. For if our minds were…

In Book 3 (lines 95-111), the question of “free will” is brought up. Milton’s discussion of free will raises the question of whether free will is something that an individual can choose or reject, or if in fact there is no choice of free will at all. It is possible that God is simply tangling the idea that free will even exists to men as a way for them to believe they have a choice over their own faiths, when it is possible that in actuality they do not. The question is why would God create…

A. J. Ayer’s analysis of free will is as follows (611): P1 If you would have chosen to act in a way other than you did, you would have P2 You acted voluntarily P3 You were not compelled to act in a certain way C1 Your action was the result of free will Ayer’s first premise for an act of free will states that if you would have decided to make a different choice, you would have made a different choice. This condition for free will addresses the determinism theory (everything that happens can be…

effect. Freedom, on the other hand, allows for spontaneity, meaning not every effect has a prior cause, thus allowing for new events to occur. So, the argument, or rather question, is: which one of these is true…freedom, or causality? With freedom comes free will, a mind, and a soul. With causality, comes a body (made up of matter) reacting to the matter (e.g. trees, buildings, other bodies, etc.) surrounding it, actions that are not our own, and a fate that is predetermined. With freedom, we…

the Agony of Decision Making, Carl E. Pickhardt Ph.D. discusses the reason why adolescents agonize over the idea of having to make decisions. This conflict comes about due to the fact that decision making is related to a loss of freedom. Pickhardt states that “all decisions reduce more freedom than they create,” (2013). This loss of freedom brings about feelings of indecision and ambivalence which can lead to teenagers procrastinating the choice to make a decision until it is absolutely…

Humans have free will in the sense that they ultimately have choice, however, external and internal forces direct them to make certain choices. To have free will, one must be able to say “I could have chosen otherwise” after making a choice. Even if the alternate choices are unwise or undesirable, if one still has choice without direct external constraints, they have free will. This is a compatibilist response to the free will question. A choice is an fork in the road where one can complete…

Free Will and Determinism have been discussed by philosophers for many years. Free will is associated with moral responsibility, and alternative actions that “could have” been taken over the one chosen. Determinism is the opposite view, and is associated with universal causation, and a lack of free will. Determinists believe that a person’s actions are inevitable, they are dictated by a person’s experiences, they believe nurture, nature, and even a person’s genes determine their future actions.…

without someone or something intruding on my choice while still knowing that things are determined. But then I don’t think people are free in general. I think it is like the idea of Pinocchio, he always wants to “be a real boy”. I think we all want to be real boys/girls who make their own decisions and are not waiting to have freedoms. So then our brain tells us we are free to make our own choices, but in reality there are so many things at work. In reality, there are so many factors that affect…

I believe that God enacted or allowed the tornado to kill all who died in the natural disaster. My belief aligns with John Piper’s excerpt. God may have enacted the tornado, or He may have allowed Satan to cause it. Satan creates havoc in an attempt to steal your joy, diminish hope and stir up doubt. “If God loved me, why would He do this”? “How am I going to get through this, when I have nothing”? Satan uses different things to drive a wedge between us and God. God can intervene in everything…

It seems obvious that I have free will because I made the decision to eat a slice of cheesecake at 2am. I could have eaten a brownie instead if I wanted to. Michael Huemer says on page 104, Chapter 10 ‘Free Will and Determinism in the World of Minority Report’, “Having free will is thought to require two things: alternate possibilities and self-control.” Free will is the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one 's own discretion while the universe…