Free will is a problem that has been occupying the minds of many philosophers. The classical debate is whether we have free will or we are determined and therefore free will in an illusion. There are many views that philosophers have brought to the table in order to tackle this debate. Some of which are determinism, libertarianism, and compatibilism. Harry Frankfurt’s general intake on the debate is that free will is not about having the ability to do otherwise. Instead, free will is about having the ability to make judgements about our desires. The purpose of this paper is to expound and asses Harry Frankfurt’s semi-compatibilist view, his concept of a person, and how it relates to the freedom of the will. The traditional compatibilist view claims that determinism, every action has a prior cause, is compatible with free will. This means that even if our actions and choices are determined by the laws of the universe, there …show more content…
The distinction between second order desires and second order volitions can be difficult to grasp, but I shall present my best interpretations of Frankfurt’s readings. Second order volitions are judgements that we make about our desires. One last time, suppose person A is on a diet so he admits a firm resolution about his diet. So he thinks (I should want X) or (I should want to not X). Person A thinks he should want to not eat dessert in his new diet resolution. In saying this, person A is placing a valued judgement about his desires. He is someone who is not just letting his desires pull him one way or another. He is placing a valued and examined judgement about which one of his desires is the desire he wants to constitute his will. In saying “I should want to not eat dessert”, he is saying that there is an important sense in which wanting to not eat dessert more accurately characterizes who he stands for and what his values
Based on the article ‘Compatibilism’ written by W.T. Stace, he explained about the reconciliation between free will and causal determinism. He tries to reconcile both of these by adopting a compatibilist view of freedom. Firstly, it says that free will is related with morality which means if one is absent, so the other. We appear to be free, however, determinism suggests that every actions that we did are determined by previous events that happened to us that we have no control over it.
In this essay, I shall argue that Frankfurt’s account of free will is unsuccessful. I shall begin by outlining Frankfurt’s account of free will before highlighting an objection and showing that despite it’s attractions Frankfurt’s account of free will is ultimately unsuccessful.
The view of free will has been heavily debated in the field of philosophy. Whether humans possess free will or rather life is determined. With the aid of James Rachels ' article, The Debate over Free Will, it is clearly revealed that human lives are "both determined and free at the same time" (p.482, Rachels), thus, in line with the ideas of compatibilist responses. Human 's actions are based on certain situations that are causally determined by unexpected events, forced occurrence, and certain cases that causes one to outweigh the laws of cause and effect. The article also showcases instances where free will does exist. When human actions are being based on one 's emotions of the situation, desire, and simply that humans are creatures that are created to have intellectual reasoning. I argue, that Rachels’ article, provides helpful evidence on compatibilists responses that demonstrate free will and determinism actions come into play with each other.
The basic premise of Harry G. Frankfurt’s, Alternate Possibilities and Morality argues against the idea of the Principle of Alternate Possibilities, which states, that a person is only morally responsible for his or her said action if they could have done otherwise. Although many can agree that this constitutes for an astounding contradiction to the development of morality and choice, I do not believe that Frankfurt’s response constitutes as a genuine counterexample to the Principle of Alternate Possibilities. According to the Principle of Alternate Possibilities the issues that arise is whether there is a presence of freewill and the effect that freewill plays on morality. This idea of the Principle of Alternate Possibilities complements the definition because according to Webster’s dictionary the definition states, ‘freewill is the freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention.’ According to this definition and the Principle of Alternate Possibilities it is agreed upon that freewill is a factor that must be taken into consideration when discussing the value of the actions committed by the individual. Human actions are the primary motives for wanting this concept of free will, and determining its validity as part of the issue of values and the morality of the individual. These motives are the all-important questions of life's meaning and of personal responsibility. Without freewill, we ultimately have no control over our individual goals and choices. If all of our actions were simply the inevitable operation of forces outside of ourselves and freewill is some kind of illusion then to many of us life would seem bleak. However, formulating the concept and proving its validity a...
Throughout time people have tried to prove and disprove God, all part of free will. Free will allows people to believe based on faith but can allow people to demand proof. It also allows people to decide who they are, their identity. It’s what gives people the opportunity to build relationships with people. Some relationships can cause problems with God including going against what He tells people not to do, and betraying family. Lastly, it shapes civilization to one day become a great city or it fall and be destroyed. God gave people the free will to worship Him freely instead of being forced, but being able to choose a path to follow can lead to destruction.
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.
“Are we free agents? Can we be responsible for what we do” (Strawson 225) This is the issue that Strawson brings to light in his essay. He begins to explain the notion of free will and responsibility in a compatibilist’s view. They believe that free will and determinism are compatible
The modern field of cognitive science combines research from fields such as computer science, psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience in order to study the processes of the mind. Using a framework of representational structures and operational procedures, cognitive science has been able to make significant contributions to the study of cognition and information processing. This interdisciplinary approach has been so successful that its application has been extended to areas like metaphysics, which was once considered to be outside the realm of empirical study; theorists hope that cognitive science may provide insight into questions related to the fundamental nature of existence, such as the debate between free will and determinism.
Frankfurt had two thesis. The first one was that you can only be a person if you have second order desires. The secondary thesis was that a person has free will only if they can change their actions into anything they desire. In the article Frankfurt first starts off by answer the question what does it mean to be human. He answers this simply by stating that us humans have the ability to have second order desires. Second order desires are the actions that you want to happen. So first order desires lead to actions such as eating or sleeping. Second order desires are what you want your first order desire to be. For instance if you are eating too much and want to cut back on the food you eat that would be a second order desire. Frankfurt also states that
In “Alternate Possibilities and Moral Responsibility”, Harry Frankfurt attempts to falsify the Principle of Alternate Possibilities. The Principle of Alternate Possibilities is the principle where a person is morally responsible for what he has done only if he could have done otherwise. A person would be morally responsible for their own actions if done by themselves. If someone else had forced that person to do the action, then the person doing the action is not morally responsible. Frankfurt does not believe this to be true and that the person doing the action is morally responsible. Frankfurt’s objections towards the Principle of Alternate Possibilities shows the refutation of natural intuition and places moral responsibility upon those who deserve it.
Frankfurtean compatibilism provides a more refined model than Humean compatibilism. Humean compatibilism has denied the deterministic notion of freedom-the ability to have chosen otherwise. Hume then provides a new definition of freedom, as “a power of acting or not acting, according to the determinations of the will” (“Of Liberty and Necessity”, 23). In Hume’s view, as long as we act according to our desires and belief, we are exercising freedom of will and freedom of action. Frankfurt adds a further distinction within our desires, and concludes that our will is free if and only if we act on a first-order desire determined by our second-order desire. An agent’s will, defined by Frankfurt, is “the notion of an effective desire-one that moves (or will or would move) a ...
The choices an individual makes are often believed to be by their own doing; there is nothing forcing one action to be done in lieu of another, and the responsibility of one’s actions are on him alone. This idea of Free Will, supported by libertarians and is the belief one is entirely responsible for their own actions, is challenged by Necessity, otherwise known as determinism. Those championing determinism argue every action and event are because of some prior cause. This causation may be by an external driving force, such as a divine power, or simply a chain of events leading up to a specific moment. The problem is then further divided into those believing the two may both exist, compatibilism, or one cannot exist with the other, incompatibilism. In his work, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume presents an argument for the former, believing it is possible for both Free Will and Necessity to exist simultaneously. This presentation in favor of compatibilism, which he refers to as the reconciling problem, is founded on a fundamental understanding of knowledge and causation, which are supported by other empiricists such as John Locke. Throughout this paper, I will be analyzing and supporting Hume’s argument for compatibilism. I will also be defending his work from select arguments against his theory. Because causation and both conditions for human freedom exist, Hume is able to argue everything is determined and Free Will is possible.
If a man lacks the free will to choose his destiny, he ceases to be a man. Any philosophical implication that is in direct contradiction to the prior statement also must contradict the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition of a human. This definition states that a human is "susceptible to or representative of the sympathies and frailties of human nature." In conclusion, when a man is stripped of these attributions he becomes something other than human—this is known as dehumanization, which has been a prominent political and social issue in even the earliest recorded historical records. There have been many incidents in human history where free will was not distributed to a certain race or ethnic group, and in a multitude of those situations, they became dehumanized by the majority. One of the most known examples of this would be Nazi Germany, where about fifteen-million people were killed because they were not viewed as human. This idea was brought upon by the governmental system in Germany. Never should the government have the right to take away the free will of a human being. However, they should use correction when that free will is imposed upon another human
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).
Human nature is about free will, and using one’s free will for good acts. We know free will exists because living things are being changed day after day. Any act, from walking across a room to deciding to eat a meal, is because of free will. We are given free will and with that, the ability to create our own, unique path in life. Free will provides human beings with freedom, judgement, and responsibility. Every human being is born with the capability to live a good, just life. However it is just as possible to live an immoral life led by bad choices. This notion of endless options in life is made possible by God’s gift of free will. No two human lives will ever be the same, because no two people will ever have the exact same experiences their entire lives. Every human being is shaped by experience, which comes from our actions, which are results of free will.