Free Will and Determinism III
A is a properly voluntary action =df. (i) A is caused by a
standard volition; (ii) if the agent of A had had a volition not to do A, then
s/he would not have done A; and (iii) nobody compelled the agent of A to do
A.
Ayerian Soft Determinism (ASD)
A. Every event has a cause. (PUC)
B. There are some properly voluntary actions. (Something akin to a SD's FWT.)
C. People are morally responsible for their own properly voluntary actions,
as well as for the consequences of those actions.
Contaminated Connie's Objection to Ayerian Soft Determinism
1. If ASD is true, then Contaminated Connie is morally responsible for killing
the Great Leader.
2. It's not the case that Contaminated Connie is morally responsible for killing
the Great Leader.
3. Therefore, it's not the case that ASD is true. [1,2 MT]
“We might at first now seem warranted in simply denying determinism,
and saying that, insofar as they are free, my actions are not caused; or that,
if they are caused by my own inner states—my own desires, impulses, choices,
volitions, and whatnot—then these, in any case, are not caused. This is
a perfectly clear sense in which a man’s action, assuming that it was
free, could have been otherwise. If it was uncaused, then, even given the conditions
under which it occurred and all that preceded, some other act was nonetheless
possible, and he did not have to do what he did. Or if his action was the inevitable
consequence of his own inner states, and could not have been otherwise given
these, we can nevertheless say that these inner states, being uncaused, could
have been otherwise, and could thereby have produced different actions.”
(Richard Taylor, Metaphysics)
Extreme Indeterminism (EI)
A is a free action =df. A is an action that has no cause.
A: There are some free actions. (Accepts FWT; denies PUC)
B: People are morally responsible for their own free actions as well as for
the consequences of those actions.
“Manifestly I have nothing to do with them at all; they just happen, and neither I nor anyone can ever tell what this arm will be doing next….Behavior that is mine must be behavior that is within my control, but motions that occur from no causes are without the control of anyone.” (Richard Taylor, Metaphysics)
Be able to explain the Free Jack objection against EI.
Moderate Indeterminism (MI)
E is a free volition =df. e is a volition that has no cause.
A is a freely willed action =df. A is an action that is caused
by a free volition.
A: There are some free volitions. (Denies PUC)
B: There are some freely willed actions. (Accepts FWT)
C. People are morally responsible for their own freely willed actions, as well
as for the consequences of such actions.
An Argument Against Moderate Indeterminism (Suggested by Ayer,
Chisholm, and Taylor)
1. If Moderate Indeterminism (MI) is true, then Crazy Ralph is morally responsible
for assassinating the Great Leader.
2. It is not the case that Crazy Ralph is morally responsible for assassinating
the Great Leader.
3. Therefore, it is not the case that MI is true. [1,2 MT]
New Versions of PUC and FWT:
PUC': Every event has a cause, but some events are agent-caused
by people and are not event-caused by anything.
FWT': Sometimes people perform acts that are agent-caused by
themselves.
e1 event-causes e2 =df. e1 and e2 are events; e1 is temporally
prior to e2; and e1 makes e2 happen. (e1 --> e2)
M agent-causes e =df. M is a person; M makes e happen; no event
makes e happen. (M ==> e)
Libertarianism (LIB)
A. Every event has a cause, but some events are agent-caused by people and are
not event-caused by anything. (Accepts FWT' and PUC'; denies old PUC)
B. People are morally responsible for their own agent-caused acts, as well as for the consequences of those acts.
Be able to Present, Explain, and Evaluate an argument against LIB.