What Is a Reactive Attitude? What Bearing Does It Have on the Problem of Free Will?

In the following paper I will talk about A.J. Ayer’s “Freedom and Necessity,” and I will explain the dilemma of determinism and Ayer’s compatibilist solution to it. I will explain some of the examples Ayer uses to explain the difference between cause and being constrained, and how both affect one’s free will. I will also discuss on why Ayer’s compatibilism solution to the dilemma is the best solution so far.

In respect to the arguments of Ayer and Holbach, the dilemma of determinism and its compatibility with that of free will are found to be in question. Holbach makes a strong case for hard determinism in his System of Nature, in which he defines determinism to be a doctrine that everything and most importantly human actions are caused, and it follows that we are not free and therefore haven’t any moral responsibility in regard to our actions. For Ayer, a compatibilist believing that free will is compatible with determinism, it is the reconciliation and dissolution of the problem of determinism and moral responsibility with free willing that is argued. Ayer believes that

The aim of this essay is to prove the reliability of and why Libertarianism is the most coherent of the three Free Will and Determinism views. It refers to the idea of human free will being true, that one is not determined, and therefore, they are morally responsible. In response to the quote on the essay, I am disagreeing with Wolf. This essay will be further strengthened with the help of such authors as C.A. Campell, R. Taylor and R.M. Chisholm. They present similar arguments, which essentially demonstrate that one could have done otherwise and one is the sole author of the volition. I will present the three most common arguments in support of Libertarianism, present an objection against Libertarianism and attempt to rebut it as well as

In this essay I will analyze Galen Strawson’s Basic Argument. I will first outline his main premise of the Basic Argument and then I will examine one of his criticisms. Specifically, I will be looking into his third premise, “But you can’t be ultimately responsible for the way you are in any respect at all”. I am defending Strawson’s argument that you are indeed not responsible for your actions. I will be focusing on genetics and upbringing’s in order to support Strawson’s reasoning. Due to the genetics individuals inherit and the environment they are brought up in, it is difficult to go against Strawson as he provides valid evidence that supports his argument that you cannot be ultimately responsible for your actions.

Exposition: In Galen Strawson’s essay “The Impossibility of Moral Responsibility,” he presents the Basic Argument and argues it proves we cannot be held truly morally responsible for our actions, which is an invaluable argument in the free will problem. The Basic Argument is seen as an infallible argument. It claims that people are who they are based on the environment that they’ve been born. On the seventh page of the essay, Strawson breaks the ten part argument into five simplified premises. First, it is undisputable that

Many times I find myself sitting and wondering whether I am fully free or not. I wake up every single morning and do the same routine, which is eat breakfast, go to class or work, do homework, go to the gym, shower, and then go to bed. Does this truly mean I am free? There are a lot of questions that you can ask yourself while following a routine. Is this really the path I should have taken? Were my choices determined by external factors? Determinism is the thesis that an any instant there is only one physically possible future. Robert Blatchford and Walter Terence Stace, two philosophers, both agree that determinism is true, although they have two different views on whether this means that people are free or not. Blatchford believes that everything is predestined. Stace on the other hand, believes that a person chooses what they do because of free will. In this essay I am going to discuss both of the philosophers’ views more in depth and why I favor Stace’s view over Blatchford’s.

In “Human Freedom and the Self,” Roderick M. Chisholm takes the libertarian stance, arguing that freedom is incompatible with determinism, that determinism is in fact false, and that humans do posses the kind of freedom required for moral responsibility. Chisholm argues that a deterministic universe, where all events, including human actions, proceed from prior events without the possibility that they would proceed differently than they do prevent the possibility that humans are responsible for their actions. To validate his libertarian beliefs, Chisholm sets out to prove that humans are responsible for their actions and also the thoughts that lead to those actions. In order to answer this problem, Chisholm believes we must make some assumptions about the man who preforms the act.

An individual with “Free Will” is capable of making vital decisions and choices in life with own free consent. The individual chooses these decisions without any outside influence from a set of “alternative possibilities.” The idea of “free will” imposes a certain kind of power on an individual to make decisions of which he or she is morally responsible. This implies that “free will” would include a range of aspects such as originality, moral value, and self-governance. However, in life, individuals may not be free in making decisions. The aspect of freedom could entail remarkably a high status action and achievement in an individual’s life whose attainment could be close to impossibility. Often, people make

According to previous research on the feelings toward individuals who could or could not control their outcomes, one may assume that undesirable emotions such as anger would

Sister Gray, Sister Gray, that is powerful. Good paper. I agree with you and our facilitator D. Ridley which expressed his belief that between stimulus and response lies everything, including our freedom to choose. (D. Ridley, personal communication, February 24, 2018). There is something so powerful considering ‘freedom to choose’. Do you agree? Reading your paper caused me to think about, what if between stimulus and response someone made the wrong choice to do something negative. Would that choice be reactive or proactive? Or, do we call proactive, is when people make the right choice? I believe the focus is on the ‘space between’ stimulus and response or the time you give yourself before your response. I know it is hard for us to think about someone, for example, doing a negative and bad thing

“As discussed throughout this book, radical behaviorism is interested in providing comprehensive explanatory statements about the cause's of anyone's behavior. … By virtue of its fundamental concern with verbal behavior and knowledge claims, radical behaviorism is in a unique position: It is based on the science for which it stands as a foundation. Importantly, then, radical behaviorism admits no discontinuity

In this essay I will explain why I think the strongest position of the free will debate is that of the hard determinists and clarify the objection that moral responsibility goes out the door if we don’t have free will by addressing the two big misconceptions that are associated with determinists: first that determinism is an ethical system, and secondly that contrary to common belief determinists do believe in the concept of cause and effect. I will also begin by explaining my position and why I believe that the position of the indeterminist does not hold water as an argument and the third

The critically acclaimed American author, William Faulkner, once said, “We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.” The concept of free will has been a widely discussed topic that presents both end of the spectrum to bring forth their own point of views. In Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the idea of freedom is argued against a deterministic view that actions and decision are predetermined and can be calculated using advancement of humanity through “present day” technology. The debate between the two-opposing side will be analyzed through a recount on the deterministic point of view, an exploration about free will with its connection to the provided text, and an opinion piece of the matter.

For ages, Philosophers have struggled with the dispute of whether human actions are performed “at liberty” or not. “It is “the most contentious question, of metaphysics, the most contentious science” (Hume 528). In Section VIII of An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, David Hume turns his attention in regards to necessary connection towards the topics “Of Liberty and Necessity.” Although the two subjects may be one of the most arguable questions in philosophy, Hume suggests that the difficulties and controversies surrounding liberty (i.e. free will) and necessity (i.e. causal determinism) are simply a matter of the disputants not having properly defined their terms. He asserts that all people, “both learned and

Walter Lippman writes on his beliefs on the subject of personal freedom in the article “The Indispensable Opposition”. The author draws from his personal knowledge and observations of natural human interactions in order, to support the basis of his argument. He utilizes repetition of the word freedom, an abrasive tone, and day to day natural occurrences in order to stimulate the reader into thinking about freedom overall and how it effects themselves as a common human being. Lippmann also uses Voltaire’s enlightenment ideas to provide a rebuttal to Lippmann’s ideas which he successfully argues in order to make his opinions seem more correct. All of these strategies help to convince the reader that freedom is taken for granted and selfishly abused when another being displays an opinion that we don't agree with.