Study Notes on Free Will and Determinism Concepts

Discussion focusing on Ismail's book "How Physics Makes Us Free".
Tension between determinism and human free will is explored.
Four primary perspectives on free will regarding determinism: - 1. Scientific Libertarianism: Freedom can exist even when brain processes are fully deterministic. - 2. Free Will Despite Determinism: Freedom can exist even if all actions are caused by earlier events. - 3. Actions Unconstrained by Physical Laws: Freedom exists when actions are not governed by physical laws. - 4. Determinism: The idea that the universe's state at any moment fixes its state at all future times.

Concepts of Libertarianism: - a) Determinism: Everything is fully caused by prior events. - b) Radical Libertarianism: Positions that claim decisions are unconstrained by any physical laws or structures.
Harry Frankfurt's Conditions for Free Actions: According to Frankfurt, free actions must fulfill certain conditions: - Condition A: No obstacles prevent the person from acting according to their choice. - Condition B: Decisions must be a result of the person's desires - Condition C: The decisions are identified with higher-order desires that the individual wants to have.

Incompatibilism: Belief that free will and determinism are mutually exclusive. - Includes both Hard Determinism (accepting determinism and rejecting free will) and positions that deny determinism.
Compatibilism: A view claiming that free will and determinism can coexist. - Terminology differences: - Soft Determinism may be used interchangeably with compatibilism in certain texts. - David Hume’s View: Actions are considered free if: - Caused by the will in pursuit of desires (higher-order desires). - No obstacles are present to prevent acting on those desires.

Reflexive Actions: Example—kicking a doctor due to a reflex, highlighting that it lacks conscious decision-making.
Examples of Limited Freedom: - Physical ailments (e.g., a stroke) that prevent actions conducive to free will. - Being in jail where external obstacles obstruct free intentions.

Emphasizes a viewpoint where individuals act unconstrained by physical objects.
Non-physical aspects (like the soul) are argued as necessary for free will: - Developed by philosophers like Kant who believed that we must have a non-physical self to exist outside of natural laws.

Quantum Mechanics: Suggests some physical laws exhibit indeterminism, challenging classical views: - Example: Carbon-14 decay presents probabilities rather than certainties. - Indeterminism introduces randomness, complicating free will discussions: - Future outcomes can't be uniquely determined by current states due to the nature of quantum probabilities.

Second-order Desires: Frankfurt posits that desires that motivate actions must align with one’s identity or personal wishes to deem those actions ‘free’: - Example: If a person's desire to rob a bank is implanted (e.g., through drugs or hypnosis), it questions whether they truly acted freely despite fulfilling Frankfurt's conditions for free action.

Emotional Responses to Actions: People experience gratitude or resentment based on actions taken freely.
Morality is grounded on the premise that individuals possess free will to be held responsible for their actions.
Even in a deterministic framework, societal interactions necessitate maintaining a perception of free will as a part of human experience.