Philosophy Test 4

The Desire Theory = freedom is the power to act on your desires without external constraint

Power to do what you want to do

Observation one: our desires have casual histories

Observation 2: Some casual histories undermine freedom

First-Order Desire = a desire to act in a particular way

Second-Order Desire =  a desire about a first-order desire

Second-Order Volition =  desire for a first-order desire to be your will

Higher-Order Desire Theory = freedom is the power to act on the desire you want to act on

The ability to choose what you want

Sane Deep Self Theory = a person is free when their deep self controls their will, and they are sane

Determinism The state of the world at any given time and the laws of nature necessitate a single future state of the world.

Fatalism =  every state of the world is necessary

Ability to Do Otherwise Condition (AO) =  person x acted/chose freely only if x could have acted/chosen differently

Untouchable Fact = a fact that no human being in history has ever had the power to change

Ex: 2+2=4

The Untouchability Principle = if p is an untouchable fact, and tis an untouchable fact that if p than q, then q is an untouchable fact

Compatibilism = determinism is compatible with free will

Incompatibilism = if determinism is true, then we have no free will

Libertarian Incompatibilism = incompatibilism is true and we do have free will

Hard incompatibilism = incompatibilism is true and we don’t have free will

Retributivist Theory of Punishment = criminal punishment is justified because criminals deserve to be punished for their crimes

Contagion Theory of Punishment = criminal punishment is justified because – like quarantine- it prevents the criminal from further harming society

Hedonistic Theory of Value = pleasure is the only intrinsic good, and

   Pain is the only intrinsic bad.

Hedonism (about the good life) = the best life is one of maximal net pleasure

Net pleasure in a life = total pleasure experienced in that life – total pain

Experience machine = a machine capable of giving you any experience or series of experiences

Final end = (i) desirable for its own sake

 and

      (ii) not desirable for the sake of anything else

Virtue Theory (of the good life) = the good life is the morally virtuous life

Moral virtue = a habit or disposition to:

(i)         have the right feelings (emotions + desires)

and

(ii)       act according to those feelings

Function-Dependence = what makes something a good or bad thing of kind K depends on the characteristic function of K