Free Will and Determinism

A collection of 198 posts

compatibilism

Christian Free Will and Modern Compatibilist Atheists

A friend of mine is presently running an "ad" in the Free Enquiry magazine. There are a few ideas I would like to look at here, and I will do so in two posts. The questions to look at are as follows. First of all: is the term

change

Change and Determinism

I was reminded recently of the notion of change in the paradigm of determinism. We often talk, even hard determinists, in terms of "change": If you changed this and that variable in this child's life, then it would change their outcome so as to bring out

divine foreknowledge

Divine Foreknowledge, Time, Free Will and Thomism

This is effectively a guest post by Ficino, commenter and sometimes contributor here at ATP. Massive thanks to him as I need as much help as I can get these days! I and Ficino have written about this topic previously, linked below. These were long comments that originally appeared at

free will

Christianity: The Enemy of Reason and Sympathy?

My friend, Fellow Feather, has a penchant for taking out adverts in different publications as a form of direct mail action to address the issues that are close to his heart. Here is one of his latest numbers. See what you think about his direct approach and content. He, like

determinism

Free Will, Responsibility, Politics and Everything Else

I recently posted on Raoul Martinez and his book Creating Freedom, as well as a TED talk that went with it. My friend sent me this email on what he thinks is a tremendous book, picking out some really pertinent parts, and listing the endorsements. Given time, it would certainly

conservatism

How Fear Affects Politics

I have two videos to show you that should express the connection between physiology and political ideology: and the superb TED talk by David Pizzaro: Let me know what you think (I use the second video in my free will talk). Stay in touch! Like A Tippling Philosopher on Facebook:

determinism

Moral Responsibility and Free Will

Check out this TEDx talk from Raoul Martinez on the subject of free will, causal determinism and moral responsibility. I agree with everything therein. I have talked about brain tumours and moral responsibility here: Whitman, tumours, the neurotypical and moral responsibility Some good implicit reference to John Loftus' excellent

determinism

Libertarian Free Will and the 80-20 Problem

One of the most common defences of Libertarian Free Will (or contra-causal free will) is what I sometimes term the 80-20% approach. Most people, to some degree or another, accept that our lives are at least somewhat, and in most cases, a good deal influenced. This may be by genetic,

free will

Maths Homework, Heaven, and the Problem of Evil

Here is a comment on a recent thread on the problem of evil: >>>>The idea that math homework must cause suffering to be effective - per this concept, finding a way for all children to enjoy math homework would render it ineffective. Um, that would be

Consciousness

Brain Scans Predicting Social Bonds

This was a fascinating article from the New York Times that looks at the predictive power of brain scans. New research suggests the roots of friendship extend even deeper than previously suspected. Scientists have found that the brains of close friends respond in remarkably similar ways as they view a

Biblical Exegesis

The Exodus Debunked: Hardening of Hearts

The Exodus is a story that is hugely important to Christians (and Jews), as can be seen by some comments by Christians on the previous articles in this series. I want to continue my claims that the Exodus never happened because of both historical issues and theological/philosophical ones by

bible

Free Will or Predestination? Let the Bible Guide You...

Here are a number of quotes from the Bible that certainly muddy the waters in terms of advocating for free will. A few comments are interspersed (from my friend Julian) in between these quotes: God chose us “before the foundations of the world were laid” (Eph.1:4a) “according to

determinism

Free Will as an Abstract Construct

I am a conceptual nominalist so that when it comes to abstract ideas, I see them as constructed by the mind(s). In this way, humans create (using language, maths and so on) a map of reality as a way of interpreting real properties of the world around them. As

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve, and Failing the First Free Will Test

I have posted a number of times on the Genesis account of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. One commenter on one of the posts reminded me of my favourite meme: And this is nowhere more apparent than with the eating the fruit of the Tree of the

determinism

Free Will Talk in Winchester on Thursday

These and other crucial questions are investigated with a deft touch and uses recent and important scientific findings to support the thesis supplying a valuable overview to the subject. I am giving my talk on Free Will in Winchester, UK on Thursday night at the lovely Discovery Centre for the

determinism

The Causes of Human Behavior - Good and Bad

A friend of mine recently sent this to me; I thought it would be good for stimulus, summing up some of Robert Sapolsky's writing. I would love to find time to read Behave - it sounds a tour de force.The Causes of Human Behavior -- Good and

determinism

A Free Will Challenge for Christians!

This advert was placed in the Free Inquiry by a friend of mine. What do you think? I would love for Christians to properly engage with this argument. WELL MEDITATED HATE IS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT FREE WILL AND SOME ATHEISTS ARE COMPLICIT   What makes possible, and actually legitimates, the malignant hatred

extremism

Free Will / Islam Talks in Fareham & Bristol in Next 2 Weeks

If you are local to myself, in the Fareham and Gosport area of Hampshire, please come along next Wednesday (19th) to my free will talk. The Facebook event page is here. The week after that, on July 26th, I'll be talking to the Bristol Skeptics Society on Islam

death

Repentance and an Untimely Death

It's not often that I get to think about a theological issue in a different way, or realising a different issue or application of a problem. However, I was having an email conversation the other day with a friend (JH), and one came up. Here is JH'

crime

Free Will Skepticism and Criminal Behavior: Caruso's Public Health-Quarantine Model

I am reposting this because it has come up in conversations about free will recently and is thus pertinent again: The great Gregg Caruso has produced a fascinating looking paper which I can't wait to read. I have often advocated the quarantine method in crime and punishment. This

determinism

Reactive Attitudes: the Psychology of Free Will

On the thread to the post on whether or not moral responsibility exists in light of the falsity of libertarian free will, the idea of the ingrained psychology of free will came up. I thought I would expand on some ideas. Philosopher PF Strawson, father of philosopher Galen Strawson, was

determinism

With a Lack of Free Will, Do We Still Have Moral Responsibility?

The term "moral responsibility" is an interesting one in the context of moral philosophy and free will and determinism. The question is often raised as to whether we can have moral responsibility given a single path through life. If we do not have libertarian free will (the real

causality

Free Will: “We are influenced, but not determined” – the 80-20% approach invalidated

I was having a conversation by email the other day concerning free will, and I was reminded of this I wrote some time back. It is as a result of one of the most common (and I would argue rather naive) defences of libertarian free will that I hear. So

crime

Quarantine Approach to Crime and Punishment

As a determinist who believes that libertarian free will is an illusion, the argument over whether we have libertarian free will or not is somewhat passé. The interesting debates happen over whether we have moral responsibility or not, what any ramifications of this would be, and what approaches we should

free will

The Benefits of Dispelling the Myth of Libertarian Free Will

I'd be interested in generating some conversation in the comments here. Let's imagine the truth of the myth of libertarian free will, for the sake of argument (though I have outlined this many times in a lot of my writing). What do you think the advantages