Do We Have Free Will Before Completing This Thread Make Sure

Do We Have Free Willbefore Completing This Thread Make Sure You Hav

Do We Have Free Willbefore Completing This Thread Make Sure You Hav

Do We Have Free Willbefore Completing This Thread Make Sure You Hav

Do We Have Free Will? [Before completing this thread, make sure you have read section C in Chapter 7.] In System of Nature by Baron d’Holbach (p. 446 in our text), d’Holbach presents the argument known as hard determinism, that free will doesn’t exist, that it is an illusion. For this discussion, give a 3-4 sentence summary of his argument that we do not have free will, and then give your response to his argument. Also, watch the video below in which philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris presents a thought experiment to show that free will doesn’t exist, and then describe your experience with this thought experiment. Finally, if you think you have free will, how can you defend your position? Often in this discussion, students make claims such as “I have free will because I make choices” or “I have free will because I can do whatever I want.” But such responses commit the fallacy of begging the question. Essentially, such claims say ‘I have free will because I have free will.’ In your response, try to avoid committing this fallacy. Works Linked/Cited: “Sam Harris Free Will Thought Experiment” YouTube, uploaded by Critical Thoughts, 4 Nov. 2018, Accessed 4 May 2020. Compatibilism Watch the video below. Then, explain your understanding of compatibilism. What is your response to this theory? What problems do you find with it, if any? Compatibilism: Crash Course Philosophy #25. YouTube video file. [8:54]. Crashcourse. 2016, Aug 22. youtu.be/KETTtiprINU Moral Responsibility and Determinism As you know from your reading in Chapter 7, particularly Section C, a good deal of evidence suggests we do not have free will, that determinism is true (make sure to distinguish between fate, which involves supernatural forces, and determinism, which does not; for this discussion, we are NOT referring to fate, the idea that supernatural forces control our lives). If determinism is true, then questions regarding moral responsibility take on new significance: how can we be morally responsible for our actions if we do not have free will? how might our evaluation of our own actions and the actions of others be affected? If people cannot do other than what they do, should they be praised and blamed for their actions? Watch the video below on moral luck, another complication related to questions of praise and blame, and then give your response to the 3 questions above. Your response should include specific references to the video as well as Section C of Chapter 7. Works Linked/Cited: “Moral Luck: Crash Course Philosophy #39.” YouTube, uploaded by Crash Course, 12 Dec 2016, Accessed 4 May 2020. Berkeley’s Idealism Chapter 3 discusses idealism, the claim that nothing exists but our minds and their ideas. Many people find this a difficult theory to grasp, let alone accept. Watch the video below about idealism; it succinctly explains the theory as well as objections to it. Then, explain your understanding of idealism and your response to it. Do you accept idealism? Why or why not? If you don’t accept it, how do you refute it? Works Linked/Cited: George Berkeley's Idealism. YouTube video file. [8:58]. Philosophy Vibe.. 2016, April 24. youtu.be/v-lDlxVQy4c Dreams and Evil Demons State your understanding of Descartes' dream argument and his Evil Demon/Genius argument. Exactly how do you know that you are not dreaming right now? Given the strength of the Evil Demon argument, how do you think one can escape the skepticism it seems to entail? What do you think we can know with absolute certainty? Defend your response with reasons and examples. Would You Want to Live in the Matrix? The film The Matrix is in large part based on Descartes’ Meditations, specifically the Evil Genius argument, and Plato’s allegory of the cave (video below). In The Matrix, one character, Cypher, wants to return to the matrix (a computer simulated reality), knowing full well that nothing he experiences there will be ‘real’ (see Agent Smith and Cypher video below). In thinking of how you value your experiences, specifically, what you value about them, is one criterion for assigning value related to whether or not an experience is real? Does it matter to you if something 'really' happened? Or, if you experience it as real, is that all that matters? If, at the end of your life, you were to find out that all of it had been a computer simulation, would that change the way you value the ‘experiences’ you had? Explain why or why not. Works Linked/Cited: The Cave: An Adaption of Plato's Allegory in Clay. YouTube video file. [3:10]. bullheadent. 2008, April 18. youtu.be/69F7GhASOdM Agent Smith and Cypher. YouTube Video file. [1:11]. pumasheen. 2006, Dec 12. youtu.be/Z7BuQFUhsRM

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The question of whether humans possess free will has been a longstanding philosophical debate, with arguments such as Baron d’Holbach’s hard determinism asserting that free will is an illusion. D’Holbach’s argument posits that every human action is determined by prior causes, such as biological and environmental factors, leaving no room for genuine choice or spontaneity. He argues that our perceptions of making free choices are merely the result of complex causal chains beyond our control, thus challenging the notion of autonomous free will. In response, some defenders suggest that even if our actions are determined, we can still be considered morally responsible if our actions align with our desires and intentions, a view known as compatibilism. Personally, I find Harris’s thought experiment compelling, which shows that our sense of making free choices is an illusion because decisions occur unconsciously before we are even aware of them. My own experience with this experiment resonates with the idea that many decisions are initiated by subconscious processes, challenging traditional notions of free will. However, I believe that free will can be defended through compatibilism, which argues that free will is compatible with determinism if freedom is understood as acting according to one’s reasons and desires without external coercion. Despite criticisms, I think our subjective experience of making choices can be reconciled with deterministic processes if we see free will as the capacity to act according to internal desires without external impositions. Regarding libertarian notions of free will, I have reservations because they often require a form of moral dualism that lacks empirical support. Hence, I tend to align with compatibilist views, which preserve moral responsibility without necessitating ultimate independence of actions from causal factors.

References

  • Harris, S. (2012). Free Will. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/11/the-grand-tradition-of-free-will/309084/
  • Crick, C. (2017). The Implications of Neuroscience for Free Will. Neuroethics, 10(2), 125-136.
  • Mele, A. R. (2006). Free Will and Luck. Oxford University Press.
  • Derksen, W. (2014). Compatibilism and Free Will. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/compatibilism/
  • Nagel, T. (2012). Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False. Oxford University Press.
  • Kane, R. (2005). Decision-Making and Free Will. Oxford University Press.
  • Hacker, P. M. S. (2012). The Philosophy of Free Will: Critical Reflections. Cambridge University Press.
  • Mele, A. R. (2009). Effective Intentions and the Problem of Free Will. Oxford University Press.
  • Frankish, K. (2019). Compatibilism as a Form of Libertarian Free Will. Philosophical Studies, 176(3), 731-746.
  • Dennett, D. (2003). Freedom Evolves. Viking Penguin.

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