Free will problem

What is the Free Will Problem?

A philosophical issue questioning whether humans have free will and what it means for a choice to be free.

What characterizes someone's choice as free?

Someone's choice is free if they could have chosen otherwise than they did despite all antecedent circumstances being the same.

What does Scientific Determinism assert?

That choices and actions are caused by physical events beyond the individual's control, implying that free will is an illusion.

What role do antecedent circumstances play in free will?

Antecedent circumstances refer to everything in the world and the individual at the time of the choice, and one could have chosen differently even if those circumstances were the same.

What is the relationship between free will and physical events according to the text?

If every physical event has a cause, then actions are determined by prior physical states, challenging the notion of free will.

How does one potentially argue against Scientific Determinism?

By suggesting that people are not merely reducible to their physical bodies, implying a distinction between mind and body.

What problem does Dualism introduce in the context of free will?

It raises the Mind-Body problem: how can a non-physical mind affect a physical body and vice versa?

Why is randomness at the sub-atomic level not a strong defense for free will?

Free choices must not be random; they need to be initiated and willed by the individual for them to count as free.

What is an example used to illustrate the argument of free will?

The scenario of deciding whether to stay put or climb out of a sinking car illustrates the complexity of free will and antecedent circumstances.

What might the future hold regarding the predictability of human behavior?

If science advances to predict every behavior, it would suggest that free will may not exist, as humans would then be subject to the same causal laws as other organisms.

What would it mean if humans could not be predicted like other organisms?

It would suggest that humans have free will, indicating a uniqueness in human decision-making.