In Our Time: Philosophy Free Will
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Mar 10, 2011 Explore the timeless debate on free will in philosophy, from reconciling determinism and free will to the impact of quantum indeterminacy. Philosophers discuss how personal emotions like gratitude and resentment are linked to the belief in free will, challenging the notion of preordained paths and delving into the complexity of human decision-making.
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Use Responsibility To Shape Behaviour
- Treat moral responsibility as a social mechanism to shape behaviour rather than a metaphysical desert.
- Use praise, blame, rewards and punishments to alter people's control and improve how they act.
Control, Not Alternative Futures
- Compatibilists argue freedom is compatible with determinism because we care about degrees of control, not metaphysical alternatives.
- Distinctions like premeditation versus crime of passion track control even if actions were determined.
The Pessimist's Dilemma
- Pessimism argues both determinism and indeterminism undermine responsibility: determinism removes alternate possibilities, indeterminism introduces luck.
- Randomness in decisions doesn't ground responsibility because it makes actions accidental rather than authored.