Introduction to Philosophy and Critical Thinking

9-Are we master of our fate

Theology –Question about freewill

9.1 Problem of Freedom of Will

9.2 Libertarianism
9.3 Determinism
9.4 Hard Determinism vs Soft Determinism
9.5 Determinism and problem of moral responsibility
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Learning objective
• Examine the relationship between free will & morality
• Explain & critically evaluate the indeterminism
• Explain & critically evaluate the deterministic view of human nature
• Explain Compatibilism as an attempt to reconcile determinism & indeterminism
9.1 Problem of evil
Freewill and Determinism
Who controls your life? The puppet, created for the Tbilisi Marionette Theatre, is controlled by forces hidden
from public view. In this chapter, you will explore whether this metaphor is applicable to your life and the choices
you make.
 9.1 Are You the Master of Your Fate?
• Determinism
– Human nature
– The environment
– Psychological forces
– Social dynamics
• Compatibilism
• Libertarianism
 Freewill
• We (agents) need to make many decisions every day among
available alternative choices e.g. What to eat in Breakfast,
where to go for shopping or investments.
• I ate egg in breakfast because of my decision to eat an egg at
that point.
• These choices seem to be real to us.
 9.2 Libertarianism
• Ways of viewing the universe
– A universe of actualities
– A universe of possibilities
• Psychological, astrological,
sociological, and economic theories
• Analyzing James on free will
 Libertarian Free Will

• We chose one over the other alternative choices freely.

• In our subjective reality, we are living in a free world.
• Its feel like we are free.
 9.2 Libertarianism
• Indeterminism and libertarianism
• William James, The Will to Believe
– We live in a world of possibilities.
• Self improvement
• Morality
• Religion
• Social improvement
 9.2 Libertarianism
• Jean-Paul Sartre, from Existentialism
Is a Humanism
– We create ourselves through our choices
• Existentialism
• Analyzing Sartre on freedom, choice,
and responsibility
 9.3 Determinism
• Determinist view of personal freedom
• John Stuart Mill
• Baron d'Holbach, The System of Nature
– Analyzing Baron d'Holbach on the
illusion of freedom
 Determinism
• Physical-world is deterministic.
• Every event in the present has been caused by a past event.
• Human and their actions are part of the physical world.
• We are bound to physical laws.
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9.4 Hard determinist position

• Every event has cause of universal law that govern the
whole world.
• Our actions are beyond our control
 Hard Determinism

• Free will is just an illusion.

• Fate is the endless chain of causation, whereby things are; the
reason or formula by which the world goes on— Zeno
• Our physical states leads our mental states
 Causal Determinism—As we are Puppets of Nature

Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces

over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as
for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a
mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player—
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
 9.4 Compatibilism
• Compatibilism
– Attempts to find a common ground between "hard"
determinism and indeterminism
• External constraints may limit freedom.
– W. T. Stace
• Religion and the Modern Mind
• Human actions are entirety determined by causes,
both actions which are "free" and those which are
"unfree."
 9.4 Compatibilism
• External constraints may limit freedom.
– R. E. Hobart
• Wish-will-act
– Free actions
– Unfree actions
• The meaning of "power"
• Free choices
• Unfree choices
 9.4 Compatibilism
• External constraints may limit freedom.
– David Hume
• An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding

• Response of hard determinists and libertarians to the

compatibilist definition of free choices
• Internal constraints may also limit freedom.
– Schlick
Free will vs Determinism
Free will Determinism
• We (agent) choose one over the • We (agent) don’t have cho-
other alternative choices, ices
freely. • Every event in the present
• In our subjective reality, we are has been caused by a past
living in a free world. event.
• A person (agent) can affect the • Physical-world is
causal chain in the world. deterministic.
 9.5 Moral Responsibility

• All traditional moralist have presupposed belief in free will.

• Without freewill what is meaning of good and bad, right and wrong
action?
• Without free will how can we be creative and personally responsible?
 Compatibilism/ Soft Determinism
• Though every event in the present has been caused by a past event still
some human actions are free.
• Example: I am feeling hungry (Physical-world is deterministic)
a) Either I eat an apple
b) Or I am forced to eat an apple
• In both cases, I may get rid of my hunger that is determined, but if an agent
self-determined or internal causes determined his/her action then this
action should be treated as free.
 Reference
References:
1.Reference Book:
Morris, T. (1999). Philosophy for dummies. Wiley Publishing, Inc.: Chapter
10 and 11
2. Images:
In the Powerpoint lecture are licensed under Creative Commons BY 4.0:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/.
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are you free?
Freedom and Determinism

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