The Challenge of Philosophy CH04

Chapter 4: Free Will and Determinism

Introduction

  • Belief in free will is essential; those who do good deserve praise, and those who do evil deserve punishment.
  • This belief is not threatened by determinism.
  • Determinism: "There is at any instant exactly one possible future."
  • Determinism doesn't negate the ability to make decisions or learn from mistakes.
  • Free will has been a topic of human interest for a long time, with theories of fate, divine sovereignty, and predestination.
  • Everyday choices raise questions about whether our belief in free will is an illusion.

Traditional Threats to Free Will

  • Scientific understanding of natural law suggests our choices are caused, similar to how weather events are caused.
  • Fatalism: Belief that a mysterious force called "fate" determines each person's destiny.
    • Popular mainly in ancient Greece and China.
    • Stoicism: A philosophical movement that accepts whatever comes our way to avoid unhappiness.
    • Example: Epictetus's quote, "Your wife has died? Just say ‘she was given back.’”
    • Fatalistic outlook can be imprudent in daily life (e.g., ignoring safety measures because "when your number is up, it is your time to die.").
    • Example: Soldiers in World War I who believed that if a bullet has your name on it, wearing a helmet is pointless.
  • Predestination: Theological doctrine that God has already chosen those who will be saved.
    • The more one emphasizes God’s sovereignty, the less room there is for free will.
    • John Calvin: Before the universe, God "elected" those who would be part of His Church.
    • Worldly success was seen as a sign of membership, creating the "Protestant work ethic."
    • This doctrine seems incompatible with free will.
    • Analogy: Finding a sign on the inside of door B reads, "your choice was pre-ordained from the foundation of the universe.”
  • Divine Foreknowledge: Theologians think God's omniscience implies He knows the future.
    • St. Augustine believes God sees past, present, and future in one glimpse.
    • The past cannot be changed.
    • If God knows future actions, how can we be free to do them or not?
    • One requirement for free will is the ability to affect the future, but if the future is already known, it is not open to change.

Determinism

  • Determinism: Every event is caused by events that happened before; the universe has a causal structure.
  • Scientific explanations fit events into the causal structure of the universe.
  • The worry: Human actions are events in the natural universe and may be explained in the same way.

Responses to Determinism

Libertarianism

  • Beliefs:
    • Determinism implies that free will is not possible.
    • Since we have free will, determinism must be false.
  • Denying determinism can be challenging since it is essential for scientific explanations.
  • One approach (Descartes): Determinism applies to material objects, but the human mind is an immaterial substance.

Hard Determinism

  • Beliefs:
    • Determinism is not compatible with free will.
    • Free will is an illusion and a pre-scientific belief.
    • Human choices are caused similarly to hurricanes.
  • Implications:
    • No one can be held responsible for their actions.
    • Praising or condemning behavior is a mistake.
    • Analogy: A person suffering from OCD washing their hands hundreds of times a day.
    • Victims of OCD are not free because their brain is not functioning properly.
    • Hard determinists ignore the evolved ability to anticipate consequences.
    • Ability to use language enables deliberation.

Compatibilism

  • Beliefs:
    • Accepts the truth of determinism.
    • There is still room for human choice and moral responsibility.
    • Actions are caused, but we are part of the causal process.
  • Making choices does not require escaping the causal structure of the universe.
  • Determinism just says events are caused; it doesn't deny chance or deliberation.
  • Chance events can occur in a deterministic universe (e.g., Gwen and Maria meeting at Vallarta).
  • Brains have evolved over six million years to enable deliberation.
  • Rational agents are "utility maximizers" (game theory).
  • Deliberation makes rational behavior possible.
    • Example: A student applies to six universities and deliberates to maximize the expected utility.
  • Rational decisions don't pop out of thin air; they are the result of deliberation.
  • Decisions are both free and caused if they result from the agent's deliberation.
  • Free will is a skill associated with rational behavior.
  • Those who do not cultivate it are slaves of passion.
  • Anyone with a functioning brain can improve decision-making skills in a universe that has a causal structure.

Example

  • Mark 11:12-14, 20-21: Jesus cursing the fig tree.
  • It is strange that Jesus gets angry at the tree because it was not fig season yet.
  • When blaming someone for not doing something, it must have been possible for that person to do the action.
  • Fig trees cannot produce figs when it is not fig season.