Determinism Freewill

8/12/2019 Determinism Freewill

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Metaphysic:

Determinism andFree will

by Kamal


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Determinism

Determinism

Causal Logical Theological


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Term (Kessler G E, 1992: 185) Determinism

The belief that all events are caused; meaning anygiven event is determined (caused) by some set ofantecedent events even if we are not fully aware of

what those antecedent events are (cause and effect)

Fatalism The belief that some or all events are predetermined

by some impersonal cosmic force or power (law of

nature) Predestination

The belief that some or all events are predeterminedby some personal power (god)


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The problem of freedom &

determinism? Or the problem of free

will? If all events are caused, how can any

human actions be free?

Are we free agents?

Does God has no power to control human

being?

Can determinism and free will come

together?


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Causal Determinism

The thesis that future events are necessitatedby past and present events combined withthe laws of nature. Such determinism is

sometimes illustrated by the thoughtexperiment of Laplace's demon. Imagine anentity that knows all facts about the past andthe present, and knows all natural laws thatgovern the universe. Such an entity might,under certain circumstances, be able to usethis knowledge to foresee the future, down tothe smallest detail.


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Causal Determinism

In generative philosophyof cognitive sciencesand

evolutionary psychology, free will is assumed not to exist.

However, an illusion of free will is created, within this

theoretical context, due to the generation of infinite or

computationally complex behavior from the interaction of a

finite set of rules and parameters. Thus, the unpredictability

of the emerging behavior from deterministic processes

leads to a perception of free will, even though free will as

an ontological entity is assumed not to exist. In this picture,even if the behavior could be computed ahead of time, no

way of doing so will be simpler than just observing the

outcome of the brain's own computations (radical

behaviorismB H Skinner; J B Watson)
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Emergencehttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Cognitive_sciencehttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Evolutionary_psychologyhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Evolutionary_psychologyhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Cognitive_sciencehttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Emergence


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Logical Determinism

Logical determinismis the notionthat all propositions, whether aboutthe past, present or future, are eithertrue or false. The problem of free will,in this context, is the problem of howchoices can be free, given that what

one does in the future is alreadydetermined as true or false in thepresent.


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Logical Determinism

Everyone believes himself a priorito be perfectly

free, even in his individual actions, and thinks that

at every moment he can commence another

manner of life... . But a posteriori, throughexperience, he finds to his astonishment that he is

not free, but subjected to necessity, that in spite of

all his resolutions and reflections he does not

change his conduct, and that from the beginning ofhis life to the end of it, he must carry out the very

character which he himself condemns


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Theological Determinism

The thesis that there is a God who

determines all that humans will do, either

by knowing their actions in advance, via

some form of omniscience or by decreeing

their actions in advance. The problem of

free will, in this context, is the problem of

how our actions can be free, if there is abeing who has determined them for us

ahead of time.


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Theological determinism

The theological doctrine of divine foreknowledge

is often alleged to be in conflict with free will.

After all, if God knows exactly what will happen,

right down to every choice one makes, thestatus of choices as free is called into question.

If God had timelessly true knowledge about

one's choices, this would seem to constrain

one's freedom


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Free will

Free Will

Religious Ethics Scientific


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The principle of free will

The principle of free will has religious, ethical,and scientific implications. In the religiousrealm, free will may imply that an

omnipotent divinity does not assert its power overindividual will and choices.

In ethics, it may imply that individuals can be heldmorally accountable for their actions.

In the scientificrealm, it may imply that the actions ofthe body, including the brain and the mind, are notwholly determined by physical causality.


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Compatibilism & Incompatilism

Compatibilismis the view that accepts both theexistence of free will and the truth of determinism,claiming that they are compatible with each other.

Incompatibilismis the view that there is no way toreconcile a belief in a deterministic universe with a beliefin free will. Hard determinismis the version ofincompatibilism that accepts the truth of determinism andrejects the idea that humans have any free will. This

contrast to another incompatibilism (metaphysicalliberation) that reject the determinism and accept humanfree will
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Compatibilismhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Incompatibilismhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Hard_determinismhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Hard_determinismhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Incompatibilismhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Compatibilism


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Determinism vs. Free Will


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Determinism & Free Will

Determinism & Free Will

Compatibilism,

Soft determinismIncompatibilism

Override

Expectation

Metaphysical Liberation,

libertarianism

Hard determinism,

Fatalism, predestination

Robotic Human

Causa Sui

Illusion free will


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Compatibilism: overide

Compatibilists(Thomas Hobbes, David Hume) pointto clear-cut cases of someone's free will beingdenied, through rape, murder, theft, or other forms

of constraint. In these cases, free will is lacking notbecause the past is causally determining the future,but because the aggressor is overriding the victim'sdesires and preferences about his own actions. Theaggressor i s forc ingthe victim and, this is what

overrides free will. Thus, the determinism does notmatter here; what matters is that individuals' choicesare the results of their own desires and preferences,and are not overridden by some external (orinternal) force.
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Compatibilismhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Thomas_Hobbeshttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/David_Humehttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/David_Humehttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Thomas_Hobbeshttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Compatibilism


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Compatibilism: expectation

In Elbow Room, Dennett presents an argumentfor a compatibilist theory of free will, which hefurther elaborated in the book Freedom Evolves.

The basic reasoning is that, the future is ill-defined for all finite beings. The only well-defined things are "expectations". The ability todo "otherwise" only makes sense when dealingwith these expectations, and not with some

unknown and unknowable future. Sinceindividuals have the ability to act differently fromwhat anyone expects, free will can exist.
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Elbow_Roomhttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Freedom_Evolveshttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Freedom_Evolveshttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Elbow_Room


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Incompatibilism (free will): robot

The idea is simply that if man is determined inhis choices of actions, then he must be like othermechanical things that are determined in theirbehavior. That is, if man's behavior is causallydetermined, then he is nothing moresophisticated than a wind-up toy, a billiard ball, apuppet, or a robot. Since these things have no

free will, then man must have no free will, ifdeterminism is true.


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Free will or Determinism?


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Incompatibilism (free will): causa

sui Free will means that man must be the "ultimate" or

"originating" cause of his actions. He must be a causasui, in the traditional phrase. To be responsible for one'schoices is to be the first cause of those choices, wherefirst cause means that there is no antecedent cause ofthat cause. The argument, then, is that if man has freewill, then man is the ultimate cause of his actions. Ifdeterminism is true, then all of man's choices are causedby events and facts outside his control. So, if everything

man does is caused by events and facts outside hiscontrol, then he cannot be the ultimate cause of hisactions.
http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Causa_suihttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Causa_suihttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Causa_suihttp://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Causa_sui


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Incompatibilism: Hard determinism; fatalism; predestination


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reference

Kessler, G.E. 1992. Voices of wisdom:

multi-cultural philosophy reader. California:

Wadsworth Publishing Company (p. 185-213)

http://buckleherry.wordpress.com/

http://www.informationphilosopher.com/freedom/taxonomy.html
http://buckleherry.wordpress.com/http://www.informationphilosopher.com/freedom/taxonomy.htmlhttp://www.informationphilosopher.com/freedom/taxonomy.htmlhttp://www.informationphilosopher.com/freedom/taxonomy.htmlhttp://www.informationphilosopher.com/freedom/taxonomy.htmlhttp://buckleherry.wordpress.com/


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Determinism Freewill