Searle’s Argument against Free Will

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Searle’s argument is one against humans having free will. The conclusion comes from his view on determinism and his view on substances. His view on substances is a materialist one. To him, the entire world is composed of material substances. All occurrences can be explained by these materials. This is a view that is very attuned with (accepting) determinism. Determinism states that necessary causes must be for the occurrence to be. This deterministic cause and effect relationship is apparent in the physical world. Hard believing determinists see determinism as being exclusive of free will. Searle, being a materialist, views humans as just another material substance. He accepts determinism and rejects (libertarian) free will.

1. The behavior of every material composite substance is either completely deterministically caused by the nature of the material parts making it up or is partially randomly caused.

2. If (1) then, if a human being is a material composite, her behavior is either completely deterministically caused by the nature of the material parts making her up or it is partially randomly caused

3. If a human being is a material composite, her behavior is either completely deterministically caused by the nature of the material parts making her up or it is partially randomly caused. (1,2)

4. No being having the behavior of which is either completely deterministically caused by the nature of the parts making it up, or is partially randomly caused, has freedom in the libertarian sense.

5. If a human being is a material composite substance, she does not have freedom in the libertarian sense. (3,4)

6. Human beings are material composite substances.

7. Human beings do not have freedom in the libertarian sense.
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...is pretty solid. The most accessible way to argue against it is to argue against materialism. Arguing against materialism with a dualist view is only partially successful because it entails that there still is a material self that is determined which can’t be free in the libertarian sense. The only way to successfully unravel the argument is with an idealist—mind only—substance view. It you viewed humans in this way, humans would not be determined and able to have free will (even in the libertarian sense!) Even more daring would be trying to reject determinism and accept libertarian freedom using a material viewpoint. Although it is possible, it leads to quite a conflicting view. However, the view that makes the most sense is the argument. This seemingly valid argument says that humans are materials which make them determined which disallows their freedom.

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