Timeline for J. L. Austin redux (gamebooks and the "ordinary-language analysis" of free will)
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
7 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 17, 2021 at 7:49 | vote | accept | Kristian Berry | ||
| Dec 17, 2021 at 5:24 | answer | added | Futilitarian | timeline score: 1 | |
| Dec 16, 2021 at 12:44 | comment | added | Kristian Berry | To an extent, I think it might be better to "replace" the question, "Do we have free will?" with questions about specific notions of free will, like, "Do we have the ability to do otherwise?" or, "Are our intentions configured by Frankfurt meshes?" And then, "Is the ability to do otherwise necessary for moral responsibility, or is a Frankfurt mesh sufficient?" That way we wouldn't get lost in mere analysis of words, maybe. | |
| Dec 16, 2021 at 12:41 | comment | added | Kristian Berry | I gather that Austin concluded that the ordinary-language meaning of the phrase "free will" is interwoven with the idea of "same initial conditions, different possible outcomes." (Hence the ever-present temptation to think that quantum physics opens the door to such free will, especially modulo strongly subjectivist interpretations of QP.) Gamebooks, especially when known as "choose your own adventure" books, seem to be examples of this ordinary-language concept of free will as choice, where choice involves the same initial conditions but different possible outcomes. | |
| Dec 16, 2021 at 12:36 | comment | added | Futilitarian | I am fascinated with the question of free will, but I lack philosophical training. I do however have an ability to reason (reasonably) well : ). I followed your question - I believe - until the concept of masking was introduced; and from then on, the dense vocabulary defeated me. I acknowledge it might be more desirable for readers to elevate themselves rather than for questioners to dumb things down, but I also think there's value in maximising simplicity. Is it possible to express your question using simpler language? | |
| Dec 15, 2021 at 22:04 | history | edited | Kristian Berry | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
clarified the conclusion
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| Dec 15, 2021 at 21:53 | history | asked | Kristian Berry | CC BY-SA 4.0 |