Chapter 9: Are We Free or Determined? - Cengage

Chapter 9: Are We Free or Determined? Introduction Determinism all events are caused Fatalism events are predetermined by

some impersonal cosmic force or power Predestination events are predetermined by some personal power Problem of freedom and determinism If all events are caused, then how can any human action be free? Introduction The dilemma Human choice is either free or not free If it is free, then the law of causality is

false If it is not free, then people are not responsible for their actions Therefore, either the law of causality is false, or people are not responsible for their actions The Case of Dr. Svengali Jonathan Harrison

Uses science fiction to explore issues of freedom and determinism Dr. Svengali is able to determine the actions of the housekeeper, but he is unable to successfully control her will without unwanted consequences We Are Determined Hard determinism every event

has a cause that is incompatible with free will Simple determinism is not necessarily incompatible with free will Not Guilty Robert Blatchford

Blatchford denies that humans are free to rise above heredity and environment Rewards and punishments cannot be based on human responsibility A man is free to act as he chooses to act, but what causes him to choose? We Are Free Libertarianism some human

choices, such as moral choices for which we are responsible, are not determined by antecedent events Existentialism Jean-Paul Sartre Existentialism existence precedes essence. Man defines himself after he exists

If human nature is not predetermined but is something that we create as we make decisions, then we are radically free Karma and Freedom The law of karma states that as each sows, he shall reap. Past and present actions determine future

spiritual, moral, and physical conditions The perfect law of moral justice operates automatically in the universe Karma and Freedom Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Radhakrishnan supports a type of libertarianism Agent causation when your whole self is the agent that causes you to choose and act, then you are free What is the self? We Are Both Free and Determined

Soft determinism every event has a cause, and this fact is compatible with human freedom. Compatibilism even if determinism is true, people ought to be held responsible for those actions they do voluntarily Chanelle, Sabrina, and the Oboe Bruce N. Waller

Explores the soft determinist position Rejects the idea of moral responsibility Distinguishes between taking (or taken) responsibility and moral responsibility Taken responsibility does not necessitate rewards and punishment