Free will and determinism

Question	Answer
What is meant by the term moral responsibility?	Moral responsibility is the status of a person being able to be praised, blamed or punished for an action
What is free will?	Free will is the idea that we can freely choose what we do and ergo can be held morally accountable, the ability to have done otherwise
What is hard determinism?	Hard determinism is the idea that we do not have any free will at all and are determined in some way for all the actions we do, and that all actions and events are necessary consequences of what came before
What is Compatibilism?	Compatibilism or soft determinism is the idea that some of our actions are determined but we have some free will as well
What is Libertarianism?	Libertarianism is the idea that we have complete free will, and are free moral agents
Who are some philosophers and thinkers behind hard determinism	Laplace, Epicurus, Spinoza, Pavlov and Skinner
Who were some thinkers behind compatibilism?	David Hume was behind compatibilism
Who were some thinkers behind libertarianism?	Thomas Reid was behind libertarianism
What is scientific determinism?	Scientific determinism is the idea that all events are determined by antecedent events and states of affairs, ergo no free will
What is Laplace's demon?	Laplace's demon is the idea that if we could have mapped out every choice and decision then we could predict the future accurately and left no room for free will
What is psychological determinism?	Psychological determinism is the idea from Skinner that all behaviour is the result of genetic and environmental conditions
What was Libet's brain experiment?	LIbet's brain experiment, someone had a brain scan while being told to press buttons when the thought came to them to do so and it showed how we subconsciously decided to do it before we consciously knew to
how many events did Thomas Reid argue there were?	Reid argued there are two types of events, ones that are caused and those that are free, so human moral freedom is non causal
What would moderate libertarians not deny?	Moderate libertarians wouldn't deny that the external world is deterministic and would accept the influences on hereditary
What do libertarians say about human behaviour?	they say it is not determined by external causes and that
What is a common argument for libertarianism?	the common argument comes from folk psychology, in that we feel and experience ourselves as free, and that we feel a sense of moral responsibility
How would determinists respond to libertarians?	they would say that it is an illusion caused by brain complexity
What would libertairians respond to the claim that freedom is an illusion of brain complexity?	they would say that brain complexity supports real freedom
What is 'liberty of spontaneity'?	Liberty of spontaneity is the idea that according to the will, if we wish to move we may and if we wish not to we also may, it is the power of acting or not acting
What is constant connection?	Constant conjunction is the repeated observation of events of type A followed by type B
What is an example of constant conjunction?	An example of constant conjunction is when A we throw a brick at a window, B the window will break
Do human affairs have the same kind of necessity as the natural world?	Yes, they must do, or human life would be unlivable, ergo all human life is interlinked
For compatibilists why does freedom require determinism?	Freedom requires determinism because if our wishes and desires were simply random, the order of human life would be lost
Where do our desires come from?	Our desires come from our personality that is genuinely our own
What is our personality or character?	Our personality or character is the sum total of the casual conditions that have created us
What is freedom for compatibilists?	Freedom is the expression of this character, to act according to one's desires
What is non-freedom for compatibilists?	Non-freedom for compatibilists is not being able to do what one desires because they are being forced to do something else by physical restraint or coercion threats
What problem do modern hard determinists have with Hume's idea of necessity and causation as constant conjunction?	Hard determinists see Hume's idea as too watered down
What problem do scientific determinists have with Hume's 'wishes and desires'	They see it as the product of absolute casual forces, so can't be free
What problem do libertarians have with compatibilists?	They say that Hume ignores the very power of reason, by which Hume arrived at C and they say that Hume sees reason as indistinguishable from the forces of nature
Do we have to make a decision on D,L or C?	No, because until we have sufficient evidence, we have insufficient information to decide
What is one approach to crime?	One approach to crime is that it is mental condition that is to be treated, a result from the way they were raised, so treatment should be therapeutic and rehabilitative
What is another approach to crime?	That crime is deliberate anti-social behaviour, which should be punished, through retribution or deterrence
What do hard determinists think about crime as anti social behaviour?	Hard determinists think that we lack the freedom needed for moral responsibility so this approach is wrong
What happens to the christian idea of sin if hard determinism is correct?	sin becomes redundant, the idea of heaven and hell also becomes redundant

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	Created by Thomas Woodcock over 2 years ago