William James on Free Will

Given that our will plays a role in determining our belief, James argues if we should embrace this as a fact of psychological life, or struggle against it.

William James was an American philosopher whose work in psychology in the nineteenth century recognized science as a crucial element in the improvement of social and philosophical doctrines (Allen, 1967). His blend of psychology and philosophy refined his concept of pragmatism. This pragmatic approach grasped the meaning of the ideas and truth of his beliefs in an approach that influenced the lives of individuals as opposed to the abstract sense of ideas (Hothersall, 1995). His research also outlined “the understanding of consciousness and the self, a proactive position and perception of truth, and a

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

The selection that I read and analyzed was William James’s The Dilemma of Determinism. This is written in a way to help us understand his point. He wants to “Prove that freedom of the will is true” (Pojman and Vaughn, p. 406). Meaning that in order for us to have free will we must be free. To him it is important that not only that we understand his view but that we should also take on his view and act upon it as well (Pojman and Vaughn, p. 406). If we as people can say that we believe in possibilities, and that we can make possibilities real, and that we have a choice in making the possibilities real then we in fact are acting out indeterminism. His arguments and reasoning is based off of two things. One being that “when we make theories about

3. Discuss the issue between Baron d'Holbach and William James on free will and determinism?

Journalist John Tierney, in his article, “Do You Have Free Will? Yes, It’s the Only Choice,” explores the notion of free will and exhibits how belief or disbelief in free will affects an individual’s life. By posing a hypothetical situation through rhetorical questions, incorporating experimental research, and using accusatory diction towards the opposing perspective, Tierney conveys his perception that a regard for free will allows for individuals to gain a greater sense of morality and ambition, even if the notion of free will is still disputed.

William James’s main thesis is that when an option is live, forced, and momentous and cannot be achieved by

William James was an American psychiatrist and philosopher, born in 1842 and touted as the leader of the philosophical movement of Pragmatism and of the psychological movement of functionalism (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). James’ rebuttal to the Clifford’s Ethics of Believe, was the famed Will to Believe.

Whether we have free will is widely controversial. The absence of a universal definition poses a primary problem to this question. In this essay, I shall base my argument on a set of three conditions for free will: 1) that the actor is unconstraint in his action, 2) the actor could have acted otherwise and 3) the actor must be ‘ultimately responsible’ (Kane, 2005: 121) for his action. After I have explained them, I shall apply these conditions to three scenarios that cover most, if not any, circumstances that occur when taking choices. The purpose of this essay is to show that if my conditions are true, none of the scenarios is based on free will and thus we do not have free will.

It is said in The Bible that God has given Man 'free will.' Unfortunately for Man, The Bible does not entail exactly what 'free will' is. Some speculate that there is a force called Chance. These people believe that through a serious of coincidence, luck, and their own choices, they can control their future. Others believe in a force known as Fate. With this line of thinking, everything has a goal, and those goals will be met eventually. This gives the believer a sense of inevitability and they tend to be more laid back due to the philosophy of least resistance. Least resistance is the idea of 'it's going to happen anyway, so there?'s no real point in pushing back.' In Pushkin's

Robert Hilary Kane, well known as Robert Kane, was born in Boston during 1938 and is still living. Moving on, as he grew up and finished his education, he became a professor of philosophy at the university of Texas at Austin. However, since he is seventy seven years old now, he has retired. Throughout his life, he has always had a conceptual thought about the free will problem, which helped him develop his own speculation, in regards to Aristotle’s idea about the formation of character and Karma’s ideas. As a result, he developed a clear libertarian's, viewpoint on free will. Hence, he has written many books about free will, such as Free Will and Values (1985), Through the Moral Maze (1994), The Significance of Free Will (1996), and A Contemporary

Many people attribute modern psychology to psychologist such as Sigmund Freud, Ivan Pavlov, and B.F. Skinner. Though, they were a part of developing modern psychology, many forget to recognize important founders such as William James. According to King, Viney and Woody, James came from a family with a strict father, raised in tolerance. James and his father had many encounters because of their different views. They were a wealthy and cultured family. James attended Harvard, studying a broad spectrum of just about everything. He finally received his medical degree in 1869, but then became depressed and anxious about life. He was not fond of medicine and was then offered to teach a course in the Relations between Psychology and Physiology.

Williams James’s speech The Will to Believe was so intriguing because he presents his case in a way that makes you able to apply his idea in your own life. William James the Harvard professor of physiology, psychology and philosophy was beloved by all his students. He filled the room when he spoke and even those who did not agree with his theories loved to listen to his speeches. William James dedicated 35 years of his life teaching and bringing his theories to life in his speeches and his books. James uses his personnel struggles with depression in his theories making them about how they can help people in everyday life. James use of language and images in his writing and his speeches made people feel involved. William James often changed

Intrigued by his astounding artistic talent, William James was an outstandingly gifted philosopher who used his artistry and contributed significantly to the field of psychology. His work was undoubtedly instrumental and led to him being affectionately dubbed the Father of American psychology. James articulated his thoughts with references from the arts and exercised an empiricist view in all his work as he reasoned that the evidence demonstrated that things are accurate and cannot be believed without it. James during his career carried out extensive work on Functionalism, the mind, consciousness, the self, will, and emotions. As a philosopher, James postulated that “there was always a new way to experience any reality and a new way to categorize any experience” (p. 104). James argued that humans experience a sense of now no longer than a minute and can never experience the same thought twice. For instance, today I might wake up thinking about what I am going to write for my paper, but not document my thoughts in the moment. According to James, I will never experience that thought process the same way I did a second time around. I also thought of a ritual I engage in daily which is showering and reasoned to myself that irrespective of the frequency with which I shower daily, I have never experienced my showers the same way each day.

What exactly does a deterministic universe have to say about fate and free will? Imagine if you will that there is an intellect that knows the exact position and velocity of every thing (particle, wave, what-have-you) in the universe (or multiverse). According to a Newtonian model, this intellect could predict how all of these things would interact with infinite precision and could predict every event that ever will, or has happened. If this is the case, then everything is "predetermined" and has no choice but to inevitably follow this flow of events. If everything is predetermined, humans are fundamentally fated to do exactly what the molecular interactions lead them to do. They have no free will, and are driven only by necessity. Or are they? When the molecular interactions inside a persons brain drive him to step forward with his right foot instead of his left, is "he" just being taken along for the ride? Is it his choice to step forward with one foot instead of the other? Thus is the void that we, and philosophers, of Newtons time fall into when thinking about the idea of a universe governed by set rules, and this is the universe that we see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in. But there is a problem. This Newtonian model is not complete. It explains the universal with astonishing detail, but when trying to explain the particular, it fails miserably. This is where quantum theory comes in. This theory poses problems for the