Compatibilism

Determinism is a doctrine suggesting that for every event there exist conditions that could cause no alternative event. Free will is a philosophical term describing a particular sort of capacity of rational agents to choose a course of action from among various alternatives. Understandably, the dichotomy between these two concepts is a topic philosophers have debated over for many years. As a result of these debates, a number of alternative philosophical perspectives arguing for the existence of free will, namely libertarianism and compatibilism, have emerged, existing in stark contrast to determinism. In order to ascertain the extent to which free will is compatible with determinism, one must first consider these different approaches to

The subject of freewill and determinism has been a matter of intense debate in the philosophical community for ages with the topic of compatibilism and incompatibilism. This essay will be reviewing and critiquing the work of a very well-known philosopher Peter Van Inwagen and his article “An Argument For Incompatibilism” and what does he mean by freewill and determinism.

Compatibilism is the idea that determinism is true, every event in the world is caused, and that free will still exists. Stace defends this view by saying the problem is the definition of free will. The current definition of what free will is a completely and wholly uncaused action. However this obviously would be completely

Compatibilism, also known as soft determinism, is the position or view that causal determinism is true, but we still act as free, morally responsible agents. In the absence of external constraints, our actions are caused by our desires. W.T Stace, wanted to prove that the hard determinist definition of “free” was incorrect. He posed that free does not mean random, but that our acts are casually determined in a particular fashion. There must be a deterministic or causal connection between our will and our actions. This allows us to take responsibility for our actions, including credit for the good and blame for the bad.

Determinism (as defined by Webster) is “A doctrine that acts of the will, natural events, or social changes are determined by preceding events or natural causes”. Likely, the most radical definition of determinism would state that all events in the world are the result of a previous event, or a combination of previous events. Within the realm of the all encompassing radical determinism there are philosophies that are somewhat better thought out or backed by science. One example of this is Genetic Determinism. We know that people are in some way determined by their genes both physically and behaviorally, as the human DNA is applied. Two categories of genetic determinism are Genetic Fixity and Innate Capacity.

The discussion of free will and its compatibility with determinism comes down to one’s conception of actions. Most philosophers and physicists would agree that events have specific causes, especially events in nature. The question becomes more controversial when philosophers discuss the interaction between human beings, or agents, and the world. If one holds the belief that all actions and events are caused by prior events, it would seem as though he would be accepting determinism. For if an event has a particular cause, the event which follows must be predetermined, even if this cause relates to a decision by a human being. Agent causation becomes important for many philosophers who, like me, refuse to

Compatibilism is right in the middle of both the other two theories of free will. They believe that events are determined by prior events just like the hard determinist do, but they do also believe in free will like libertarians. In every situation prior events shape the present or future events. Every time we think of a reason to do something this is because of our prior events that caused us to think one way or another. But then how can we have free will? We can have free will by the decisions we make. For example, if you are thirsty, you may drink water or milk. Prior events have caused you to be thirsty, but what you chose to drink or when is free will.

Ever since taking the decision to take a philosophy course I wonder if it was truly my own decision to take it or if it was determined by external factors. Now and then I keep in mind if my actions and thoughts are truly free or not. Is my daily routine of waking up in the morning, eating breakfast, driving to school, going to philosophy class, talking with friends, my own decision or not? In this paper I will present how Derk Pereboom argument against compatibilism does succeed. Furthermore, explain the reason why I agree with Pereboom’s defense on how hard incompatibilsm does exist, and explain why compatibilism does not.

The third key term is compatibilism. Compatibilism, also known as soft determinism, is the belief that free will and determinism can coexist. More specifically, while external forces, such as upbringing, and internal forces, such as personal desires, have influence on one’s actions, one still has the ability to make the choice (holding that they are not being physically forced to do something). For example, Jane is invited to a party. Her parents taught her that drinking has many negative repercussions but on the other hand, Jane has been overwhelmed and kind of wants to go out. Jane chooses to not attend the party. According to compatibilism, while Jane’s decision was influenced by her upbringing and by her personal desire, she still ultimately had the freedom of choice and chose to not go.

Those who identify as a compatibilist believe that even though determinism is true, thus meaning that every event that occurs is determined by preceding events and/or the laws of nature, our actions can still be free. Stace is a philosopher that identifies as a compatibilist and believes that free will occurs because of internal mental states like desires. He also believes that actions that are not free are the ones that are caused by external physical forces such as the laws of nature or preceding events. Stace believes that, “acts freely done are those whose immediate causes are psychological states in the agent. Acts not freely done are those who immediate causes are states of affairs external to the agent” (Stace, 378). However, Stace realizes that there are some cases in which an external physical force can cause you to have a desire that you act on therefore this is

In “Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person”, Harry Frankfurt illustrates the concepts of freedom of will and freedom of action, but more importantly, Frankfurt has refined the compatibilism theory. Compatibilism allows the freedom of will to exist in the deterministic world. According to determinism theory, the future state of worlds is determined by some events in the distant past (E) and the laws of nature (L). More specifically, E refers to the history, such as experiences or states whereas L refers to scientific or physical law like gravity. For example, an alcoholic’s action is determined that he will not stop drinking. Here E is that he had been drinking in the past, and L is the physiological addiction effect caused by

For years philosophers mauled over mankind 's free will and its connects to moral responsibility. In such discussion they have come up with multiple theories. The three I’ll address today are determinism, libertarianism, and compatibilism; are we products of our past unable to choose another course, or are our actions free from the chain of causality and thus our own? I believe that you can’t take these two questions as black and white. In my opinion compatibilism - which attempts to merge free will and determinism - explains our situation as humans, with a sense of moral responsibility, more clearly.

     Before one can properly evaluate the entire debate that enshrouds the Free Will/Determinism, each term must have a meaning, but before we explore the meaning of each term, we must give a general definition. Determinism is, "Everything that happens is caused to happen. (Clifford Williams. "Free Will and Determinism: A Dialogue" pg 3). This is the position that Daniel, a character in Williams’ dialogue, chooses to believe and defend. David Hume goes a little deeper and explains in his essay, "An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding of Liberty and Necessity," that determinism is this: "It is universally allowed, that matter, in all its operations, is actuated by a necessary force, and

Compatibilism established a concept of ultimate origin and psychological structure. This is in agreement with Universal Causality, or the belief that every occurrence has a reason (Morris, 1999). Compatibilism believes that if the reason or the final destination of how a person acted is from a state of inner being or desire, and then it is a free act. A state of mind where someone will definitely do something if needed to do something, or a will, provides the desire that results in an action. This series of occasions is a demonstration of will. People can have both first order desires and second order desires (Frankfurt, 1971). First order desires is wanting a thing, or basically to do or not accomplish something. One can have the craving for a soda,

Compatibilism, as described by Chaffee, is the “view that all events, including human actions, are caused. However, we can consider human actions free if they are the result of internal motivations, not the product of external influences or constraints” (2016, p. 160). Compatibilism can be compared to hard determinists, and has often been called soft determinism, in that both agree that all events are caused by some force. The compatibilists agree with the determinists that all human behaviors are caused by a previous event. One difference between the two is that compatibilists argue that humans can still distinguish between actions that are, and are not, external constraints. As Chaffee put it in his words, “Actions that are externally compelled-for example, as the result of threats-are