Is the Future Set in Stone?

541 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay free will

In this paper, I argue that agents have free will and therefore our futures are not set in stone. We have the free will to plan and decide our own future; therefore, we take responsibility for what we do in how our lives run. Determinism is the view that all events, including human choices, are governed by causes independent of human free will. If determinism is true and humans have sufficient knowledge of the universe, they could understand why things happen and predict what would happen in every circumstance. Libertarianism is the opposite of determinism. It is the view that the will is free, to a certain point, and that choices are not subject to causal laws or events.

Determinism is the view that all events, including human choices, are governed by causes independent of human free will. If determinism is true and humans have sufficient knowledge of the universe, they could understand why things happen and predict what would happen in every circumstance. Libertarianism is the opposite of determinism. It is the view that the will is free, to a certain point, and tha...

Show More
Related

  • Roderick Chisholm on freedom of the will

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    Roderick Chisholm defends Libertarianism, and in his essay “Human Freedom and The Self” argues that we have freedom of the will. Chisholm does not abandon the idea of causes but instead defines two types of causation. The first is transeunt causation where one event or state of affairs causes another event or state of affairs. This causation is based on a relationship between events. The second is immanent causation where an agent causes an event or state of affairs. An agent is an uncaused causer of events who is not bound by the laws of nature. This causation is based on the relationship between an agent and an event. Chisholm quotes a passage from Aristotle to demonstrate his immanent causation, “Thus, a staff moves a...

    Read More

  • Autonomy in Determinism

    3852 Words  | 8 Pages

    The view mentioned is alarming in two respects: First of all, in accordance with the way we see ourselves we are convinced that freedom is essential for man's being. Secondly, philosophers think they have excellent arguments against determinism.

    Read More

  • Libertarianism In Ground Hogs Day

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    Libertarianism is a political philosophy that upholds free will as its pivotal objective. As a natural law, there are no events that happen by chance, each event is derived from a cause that led to a specific effect. The law of cause and effect is one of the most universal and most certain of all laws. Ted sider says “humans and humans alone transcend the laws of nature; they are free.” Only humans are dismissed from the effects of a cause when it comes to Free will. I believe it is flawed to assume that we are the only exception to a natural law of our universe. Something as complex as our brains, such as the universe for example, did not create itself, or the phenomenon’s that occur in it. We know that in our solar system events all derive from a specific cause and we also know that everything in our universe is made up of the same matter, and we are all connected energetically. With that being said, I think it is absurd to believe that humans transcend the most established law of

    Read More

  • Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person by Harry Frankfurt

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person”, Harry Frankfurt illustrates the concepts of freedom of will and freedom of action, but more importantly, Frankfurt has refined the compatibilism theory. Compatibilism allows the freedom of will to exist in the deterministic world. According to determinism theory, the future state of worlds is determined by some events in the distant past (E) and the laws of nature (L). More specifically, E refers to the history, such as experiences or states whereas L refers to scientific or physical law like gravity. For example, an alcoholic’s action is determined that he will not stop drinking. Here E is that he had been drinking in the past, and L is the physiological addiction effect caused by alcohol. As we can control neither E nor L, then it follows that we can never act free. The thesis of compatibilist, however, states that we may have free will, even if all of our actions are determined by forces beyond our controls.

    Read More

  • Libertarianism

    1135 Words  | 3 Pages

    For centuries philosophers have debated over the presence of free will. As a result of these often-heated arguments, many factions have evolved, the two most prominent being the schools of Libertarianism and of Determinism. Within these two schools of thought lies another debate, that of compatibilism, or whether or not the two believes can co-exist. In his essay, Has the Self “Free Will”?, C.A. Campbell, a staunch non-compatiblist and libertarian, attempts to explain the Libertarian argument.

    Read More

  • The Question of Free Will: Descartes, Hume, and Nietzsche

    2066 Words  | 5 Pages

    The power of acting without necessity and acting on one’s own discretion, free will still enamors debates today, as it did in the past with philosophers Nietzsche, Descartes, and Hume. There are two strong opposing views on the topic, one being determinism and the other “free will”. Determinism, or the belief a person lacks free will and all events, including human actions, are determined by forces outside the will of an individual, contrasts the entire premise of free will. Rene Descartes formulates his philosophical work through deductive reasoning and follows his work with his system of reasoning. David Hume analyzes philosophical questions with inductive reasoning and skepticism in a strong systematic order.

    Read More

  • Libertarianism is the Best Philosophy

    1632 Words  | 4 Pages

    All in all, each view of the philosophy of free will and determinism has many propositions, objects and counter-objections. In this essay, I have shown the best propositions for Libertarianism, as well as one opposition for which I gave a counter-objection. Additionally, I have explained the Compatabalistic and Hard Deterministic views to which I gave objections. In the end, whether it is determinism or indeterminism, both are loaded with difficulties; however, I have provided the best explanation to free will and determinism and to an agent being morally responsible.

    Read More

  • Key Ideas Of Libertarianism

    793 Words  | 2 Pages

    With this form of choice, we are not compelled to act by any other force; it is our moral consciousness that is free and decides. Moreover, these decisions result from the character and moral views of the person themselves, and – according to Libertarians – we are free to act on these decisions but we are also morally responsible for them. We are perceived as free agents with the capability to make choices and accept the consequences. We – as humans – have a sense of weighing up options before we make decisions. However, some people argue that causation is a fact of the universe but Libertarians believe it does not apply to the human will. Libertarians attempt to demonstrate this idea through quantum mechanics as well as the chaos theory; these theories attempt to prove that nature is indeterministic and therefore not everything is determined. If we look at chaos theory, which is the idea that there is apparently random behaviours within a deterministic system, we can see this idea of things not being determined. However, this ‘randomness’ is not due to a lack of laws, but rather due to immeasurable variations in the initial conditions affecting the outcome of an event. Furthermore, this is why chaos theory is often referred to as the butterfly effect as the beat of a butterfly’s wing in Europe could lead to a hurricane in

    Read More

  • Debating Free-Will: An Exploration of Perspectives

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Free-will, the ability one has to act without the constraint of necessity or fate. It the power a person has to act at one’s discretion. Do we really have the freedom to experience what we want, when we choose? Some would say yes while some others will say no, philosophers have argued about this topic and there hasn’t been any particular conclusion yet. It is the ability a person or animal has to choose his or her course of actions. Although most philosophers suppose that the concept of free-will is very closely connected to the concept of moral responsibility.

    Read More

  • Is Compatibilism True?

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    Free will is the ability for a person to make their own decisions without the constraints of necessity and fate, in other words, their actions are not determined. Determinism is the view that the initial conditions of the universe and all possible worlds are the same, including the laws of nature, causing all events to play out the same. Events are determined by the initial conditions. Two prominent positions advocated concerning the relation between free will and determinism are compatibilism and incompatibilism. In this essay I shall argue that compatibilism is true. Firstly, I shall explain what compatibilism is and consider possible objections and responses to the theory. I shall then examine incompatibilism and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses and argue that compatibilism is a stronger argument and, as a result, show why it is also true.

    Read More

  • Libertarianism Essay On Libertarianism

    1242 Words  | 3 Pages

    Libertarianism is simply a form of incompatibility that believe people have free will. While libertarian believe in free will they do not believe in determinism. A deeper meaning is the idea that we have choices between alternate futures. This mean we can choice which path we will follow by our will. Our well is not determined beforehand. Libertarianism in separate in three different kinds. Each of the different kind of libertarianism different in the way they believe in free will. The idea of free well is not a simply things to explain nor is Libertarianism. An example of this is the reason why if an action is not determine, then it not enough for it to be free. He reason is that because there is a reason why action

    Read More

  • Freedom and Determinism in Richard Taylor’s Metaphysics

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    Soft determinism attempts to make the disagreeing data of determinism and freedom compatible. The theory of soft determinism rests on three fundamental claims: (1) the deterministic concept that human behaviour is causally determined; (2) that there is freedom in voluntary behaviour, so long as there is no physical impediment or constraint upon the action; and (3) that the cause of the voluntary behaviour (which is possible in the absence of impediments or constraints) is an internal state of the agent of the action. According to soft determinism, therefore, we are responsible for our actions on o...

    Read More

  • Chisholm and Free Will

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before I begin it is pertinent to note the disparate positions on the problem of human freedom. In "Human Freedom and the Self", Roderick M. Chisholm takes the libertarian stance which is contiguous with the doctrine of incompatibility. Libertarians believe in free will and recognize that freedom and determinism are incompatible. The determinist also follow the doctrine of incompatibility, and according to Chisholm's formulation, their view is that every event involved in an act is caused by some other event. Since they adhere to this type of causality, they believe that all actions are consequential and that freedom of the will is illusory. Compatiblist deny the conflict between free will and determinism. A.J. Ayer makes a compatibilist argument in "Freedom and Necessity".

    Read More

  • Free Will and Determinism

    1633 Words  | 4 Pages

    The problem of free will and determinism is a mystery about what human beings are able to do. The best way to describe it is to think of the alternatives taken into consideration when someone is deciding what to do, as being parts of various “alternative features” (Van-Inwagen). Robert Kane argues for a new version of libertarianism with an indeterminist element. He believes that deeper freedom is not an illusion. Derk Pereboom takes an agnostic approach about causal determinism and sees himself as a hard incompatibilist. I will argue against Kane and for Pereboom, because I believe that Kane struggles to present an argument that is compatible with the latest scientific views of the world.

    Read More

  • Freedom and Determinism

    2359 Words  | 5 Pages

    Freedom, or the concept of free will seems to be an elusive theory, yet many of us believe in it implicitly. On the opposite end of the spectrum of philosophical theories regarding freedom is determinism, which poses a direct threat to human free will. If outside forces of which I have no control over influence everything I do throughout my life, I cannot say I am a free agent and the author of my own actions. Since I have neither the power to change the laws of nature, nor to change the past, I am unable to attribute freedom of choice to myself. However, understanding the meaning of free will is necessary in order to decide whether or not it exists (Orloff, 2002).

    Read More

More about Is the Future Set in Stone?

Open Document