Questions tagged [free-will]

for questions concerning the freedom of choice of rational agents (often as opposed to determinism)

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
0 votes
0 answers
114 views

Is there a philosophical framework for deciding on exposing humanity changing technology?

Let us assume, there is an inventor who thinks he/she is possess a humanity altering technology. For example, an artificial intelligence. He/she is also concerned, with possible adverse effects, his/...
Alex's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
0 answers
163 views

Time travel, free will and "could have done otherwise"

The phrase "could have done otherwise" is almost essential to all discussions concerning free will. Most philosophers, as I understand the literature, believe this phrase characterizes and validates ...
natojato's user avatar
  • 1,000
2 votes
1 answer
198 views

Is there any classic argument supporting freewill?

As much as I read about history of philosophy, I saw that a vast majority of ancient philosophers supported determinism(like Cynicists, Stoicists, Buddha etc.). Did any body support freewill in ...
Z. KM's user avatar
  • 51
0 votes
4 answers
171 views

Does the denial of free will necessarily imply determinism?

SEP's entry on Arguments for Incompatibilism contains a curious passage: Empirical discoveries about our brain and behavior might tell us that we don’t have as much conscious control as we think we ...
randomwalker's user avatar
1 vote
6 answers
353 views

Could free will exist as spontaneous particle creations?

I've been reading a lot on determinism from a quantum mechanics perspective in order to reach a conclusion about freewill and determinism. So far, it seems that quantum interpretations (Copenhagen, ...
Tian's user avatar
  • 11
2 votes
3 answers
308 views

Free Will as Incoherent (What's wrong with this argument?)

Is this a sound argument? Free will is a cause that is neither determinism nor stochastic. Causes are either deterministic or stochastic. Free will is an incoherent entity All incoherent entities do ...
kungfuhobbit's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
152 views

Liberation and religions

Religion is always for a group; but philosophy is not so. One person alone cannot be a religion. It is quite natural that there is a bond (a feeling of my and my men) among the members of a religion ...
SonOfThought's user avatar
  • 3,725
1 vote
1 answer
36 views

Anselm and being "apt to will"

I am reading Anselm's On the Fall of the Devil, and I encountered an odd bit of language that I can't quite wrap my head around. In Chapter 12, Anselm (through a religious teacher) attempts to argue ...
scoopfaze's user avatar
  • 125
16 votes
15 answers
4k views

Why do people still believe in free will?

If we assume that macro-scale matter like we have in brains only acts in ways that are caused, then would not all actions in human behavior be a result of prior physical events beginning with ...
Tjeerd Geerts's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
412 views

Arguments against quantum mechanics allowing for free will?

There have been similar questions asked here [1] [2], but I'm asking something a bit more specific. I've ofter heard the argument that quantum mechanics might somehow make free will possible because ...
WillG's user avatar
  • 361
1 vote
0 answers
217 views

Boethius, Logical Necessity, and Accidental Necessity: A Solution to Free Will and Foreknowledge?

In his classic book, the Consolation of Philosophy (Book V), Boethius attempts to make an argument that libertarian free will and [divine] foreknowledge are not incompatible. His argument goes ...
brightlySalty's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
138 views

How can there be people who believe in the concept of "free will"? [closed]

For a number of years now, I've been increasingly frustrated whenever I hear anyone talk about "free will" or "his life choices", etc. It's got to the point where I'm really, really annoyed just ...
Delbert's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
346 views

Is there any theory of consciousness that extends conscious existence into the future?

I would like to be able to claim that consciousness is a physical phenomenon, arising from, subject to, and embedded in the physical structure of the universe, while at the same time claim that ...
JohnRC's user avatar
  • 179
1 vote
1 answer
86 views

Free will and consciousness [duplicate]

I am reading about free will and it seems to me that for everyone free will is associated with consciousness and this is why the Libet experiment has been so important in this debate. I do not ...
Ward Clark's user avatar
9 votes
6 answers
713 views

What is the utility of consciousness if free will is an illusion?

Introspectively speaking, it seems to me obvious that free will is illusion. Thoughts just emerge from background causes, and actions are just thoughts about actions that we have more thoughts about ...
natojato's user avatar
  • 1,000
1 vote
2 answers
338 views

Does our experience with habits lead us to believe in free will?

Notoriously intractable, free will have had no success in being proven physically. Even phenomenally it is difficult to pin down precisely. So why do people believe each other when claiming that they ...
christo183's user avatar
  • 2,427
0 votes
2 answers
545 views

Does the first law of thermodynamics guarantee us free will?

I'm considering what may already be a well-known argument. Overall I am looking for a rebuttal. I'd like to make a quick point before the argument: For this question I would like to think of free ...
Gershy's user avatar
  • 216
6 votes
3 answers
2k views

What is the difference between free will and moral agency?

I've heard a lot of people get confused about the differences between free agency, free will, and moral agency. What really is the difference?
devinbost's user avatar
  • 161
2 votes
2 answers
199 views

How do I prove an incompatibilist argument wrong?

I found a classical incompatibilist argument that looks that this: If a person acts of her own free will, then she could have done otherwise If determinism is true, no one can do otherwise ...
Moxuan's user avatar
  • 41
5 votes
4 answers
644 views

Can a mathematician create free will? [closed]

I'm of the firm opinion that free will (the idea of choice we exercise in an event) at least in the daily usage of the word is incompatible with the "laws of the universe" as we currently know them. ...
More Anonymous's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
264 views

How does Spinoza derive his ethics while keeping with his definition of an "unfree" Will

In the Ethics, Spinoza does refute any definition of Will as being free, as Will for men is an illusion which proceeds from inadequate ideas and Will for God is that of the necessity of his Being. ...
Gloserio's user avatar
  • 265
3 votes
4 answers
340 views

What is the case for free will?

By understanding the laws of nature, I've come to the conclusion that everything evolves according to the laws of physics, and that includes the formation of conscious and unconscious thoughts in the ...
Weezy's user avatar
  • 379
0 votes
1 answer
83 views

Is illiteracy something you could claim as freedom in the Libertarian world view?

Libertarians seek to maximize political freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice. (Wiki) Is it consequent or illogical to argument that a Libertarian world view allows for illiteracy as ...
J. Doe's user avatar
  • 223
3 votes
0 answers
90 views

What does Ted Honderich's attitudinism mean for moral responsibility?

I was doing some research into compatibalism, incompatibalism, and its implications for moral responsibility, and came across Ted Honderich and his 'attitudinism'. He looks at compatibalism and ...
Julian Cheng's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
2k views

If you are predictable do you have free will?

Let there be a person that acted in some way. Also there is another person who had predicted that behaviour of first person. Does the first person has free will? Is it just possible to do something ...
mkultra's user avatar
  • 155
1 vote
5 answers
915 views

If each of our thoughts is entirely determined by the brain, can there be free will or a soul?

Supposing that every single thing that exists in our mind is due to the brain, and supposing that each and every decision we have is determined by our neurons, can there be free will? How? If ...
Giovanni Grassi's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
250 views

Free Will and Causeless Causes

When searching on free will, what will often be found is that free will is incoherent (Sam Harris) or an illusion. Other references will claim it exists while citing clinical studies which ...
Wolf Larson's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
1k views

What does the experience of free will imply in a materialistic worldview?

In responses and comments to Do human thoughts interact with matter?, one answer begins, "Thoughts consist of nerve impulses..." Which, as I understand the materialist view, is partially correct. ...
Don Branson's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
349 views

Was Nietzsche speaking of psychologists when he commented that even those with the best intentions can do immeasurable harm?

Nietzsche said this (as found here): "It seems to me that a human being with the very best of intentions can do immeasurable harm, if he is immodest enough to wish to profit those whose spirit and ...
Josh W.'s user avatar
  • 379
3 votes
3 answers
455 views

Assuming we don't have a free will, why would we have this illusion?

Ok, first post on this stack exchange site and I've already restated my question because of this answer on the main toppic but yet: I'm not going to enter into the debate whether or not we do have a ...
SandTh's user avatar
  • 139
1 vote
0 answers
93 views

When did the idea of free will begin? Same for determinism

Hey so I'm doing this free will v determinism thing for class and I've tried but I can't seem to find when the separate beliefs came about. I know Socrates and Aristotle had something to do with them ...
Emma's user avatar
  • 19
-1 votes
2 answers
112 views

Illusion of choice and free will [closed]

I'm making a presentation and I need to find philosophers who have talked about topics such as free will or the illusion of choice. If you could recommend any, it would be a great help. Thanks.
Boss's user avatar
  • 13
2 votes
0 answers
58 views

How this dilemma (about freedom) go? And where is it from?

I'm not sure if this is the right SE to ask, but it seemed like the best fit. I once saw this "dilemma" in the internet, but I don't remember where or exactly how it goes, I hope someone herealready ...
Justcurious's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
206 views

Plantinga's Free Will Defense and his stance on God's omnipotence

I'm having trouble understanding exactly what Plantinga is saying in regard to God's omnipotence. He states quite clearly that it is not logically impossible for a world in which free creatures who ...
Erik M's user avatar
  • 41
2 votes
4 answers
150 views

Is it possible for a human not to select the most rewarding option?

It seems that out of all the options available, humans are wired to always make the ideal (satisfying/rewarding) subjective choice, and not go with the second best option or some other. When a ...
marko-36's user avatar
  • 131
2 votes
0 answers
357 views

Standard Argument against free will rebuttal

The Standard argument against free will states that an action is either predetermined or random and that these two options exhaust all the possibilities, leaving no room for true free will. To ...
K9Lucario's user avatar
  • 475
1 vote
2 answers
7k views

What is the difference between free will and freedom to choose?

The Wikipedia article on "secondary causation" notes the following without footnote: According to the Jewish Torah which brought down the original idea in Genesis, the phrase "free will" is a ...
Frank Hubeny's user avatar
  • 19.4k
4 votes
5 answers
496 views

How are 'voluntary' actions possible in the scope of Sam Harris's framework of free will (its absence actually)?

Disclamer: I am striving to understand the point of view, not to examine if it is right or wrong (makes sense or not, etc.). I have listened to two audio excerpts by Sam Harris, discussing his views ...
user avatar
3 votes
5 answers
549 views

How can Determinism be true in light of the Free Will Theorem

The Free Will Theorem states: Given the axioms, if the two experimenters in question are free to make choices about what measurements to take, then the results of the measurements cannot be ...
Polo Holographic's user avatar
2 votes
4 answers
295 views

The illogical nature of want/motivation and its effects on free will

Are all the decisions and desires of humans made in order to stimulate pleasure centers and avoid pain? If so, could someone/thing which is unable to feel pleasure and pain, and only had the power of ...
user236529's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
451 views

Will to power: why doesn't it work sometimes?

I'm reading Nietzsche and he had this interesting idea that all lives tend to expand their influence on the world as much as possible. And for human beings, that means seeking to start a family, or to ...
Daniel Li's user avatar
  • 358
3 votes
1 answer
255 views

Free will and the principle of sufficient reason

According to Hume, "All distinct ideas are separable from each other, and as the ideas of cause and effect are evidently distinct, it will be easy for us to conceive any object to be non-existent this ...
user27343's user avatar
  • 227
2 votes
0 answers
179 views

How do compatibilists understand "responsible"?

In Scott Christensen's book "What about free will?" on page 119 is "Pharaoh is held responsible for his actions". The reason given for God attributing culpability is "You are exalting yourself...". ...
C. Stroud's user avatar
  • 515
2 votes
1 answer
550 views

What are the differences between semi-compatibilism and compatibilism?

If it helps, by "compatibilism" I mean classical compatibilism
KarmaPeasant's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
268 views

Experiment to test for the existence of free will and randomness

If (1) we assume the universe has a finite size, and (2) we took a snapshot of the universe that includes particle speeds and locations, and (3) using perfect knowledge of science, would this be the ...
gsquaredxc's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
347 views

When would someone not have free will?

I was thinking about free will, and I kind of got confused. What would it look like for someone to not have free will? For example, if someone was paralyzed, they could still control their thoughts. ...
Christopher King's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
181 views

Is free will required in order to differentiate between the subconscious and the conscious?

If the subconscious motivates actions in a way that we are not aware of, then its fair to say that we don't have control over our subconscious. If I were to look at this from a determinist perspective,...
Tobias Ethercroft's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
242 views

Would logic be respected if we assume that the God's omniscience includes the ability to DIRECTLY OBSERVE future events?

If we assume that God knows the future, we think that the only possible way He could do that would be if He knew all possible states of the system. He could thus "compute" that future. But this "...
Claudio Zanella's user avatar
4 votes
6 answers
717 views

Is God free to make decisions?

God is omniscient, that means He knows the only one future. The only one future will become the only one past after some time. Thus we are sure that this future is really only one. It will be ...
Claudio Zanella's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
141 views

In which writings does Charles Sanders Peirce generalize the idea of freedom so that it applies to all creatures?

Charles Hartshorne claimed that Peirce was pretty close to the first philosopher in the world who generalized the idea of freedom so that it applied to all the creatures.... In which writings ...
Frank Hubeny's user avatar
  • 19.4k

1 2 3
4
5
9