Par 101-Test 2- Free Will
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35 Terms
Free Will
The capacity to choose actions freely, unconstrained by necessity or fate
Determinism
Every event is causally necessitated by preceding events and laws of nature.
Principle of Alternative Possibilities (PAP)
A person is morally responsible only if they could have done otherwise.
Compatibilism
Belief that free will is compatible with determinism.
Free Action Criteria
Do the act; want and choose to do it; could have done otherwise (PAP).
Internal vs External Causation
Internal = agent’s own will; External = outside forces.
Frankfurt's First-order Desires
Desires to act (e.g., eat cake).
Frankfurt's Second-order Desires
Desires about which desires should be effective.
Frankfurt's Second-order Volitions
Second-order desires that move you to act.
Person vs Wanton
Person has second-order volitions; Wanton does not.
Frankfurt's Rejection of PAP
Moral responsibility doesn’t require alternative possibilities.
Frankfurt's Jones Case
Jones acts freely even though a device would force him otherwise—he’s still responsible.
Incompatibilism
Free will and determinism cannot coexist
Branches of Incompatibilism
Hard determinism, Indeterminism, Libertarianism.
Indeterminism
Not all events are causally determined; allows for chance and randomness.
Causa Sui
Self-caused actions (e.g., quantum events, divine acts).
Libertarianism
Free will exists → determinism is false.
Chisholm's Agent Causation
Agent initiates a new causal chain; originator of action.
Hard Determinism
All events are determined; free will is an illusion.
Holbach's View
Humans are machines governed by physical laws; free will is a religious illusion.
Holbach's Theory
Hard determinism.
Critics' Name for Holbach's System
The Atheist Bible.
Soft Determinism Requirements
Do act, internal motive, PAP.
Difference: Frankfurt vs Traditional Compatibilism
Frankfurt denies PAP.
Ontological Materialism
Everything that exists is physical material.
Religious Hard Determinism Philosopher
John Calvin (Calvinism