Philosophy comparing libertarianism, compatibilism, and determinism
Comparing Determinism, Compatibilism, and Libertarianism
Patrick C Smith
Ivy Tech Community College
The question that the textbook poses at the very beginning of chapter four is, “Are you Free” (Chaffee, 2013, p. 172)? Most people would look at this question as pretty cut and dry and would answer a resounding yes. Philosophically speaking, it is not that easy of an answer. You have to be willing to look at the question with an open mind, and ask yourself if the choices you make are truly free or if they are governed by forces outside of your control. In the following paper I intend to compare and contrast the three major philosophical viewpoints regarding this question, and come to a conclusion on which I find to be the right answer. I believe the best way to do this is to first lay out the beliefs of each viewpoint. Once I have done this I can compare them, and give my insight on which I believe to be right. The first viewpoint regarding human freedom is determinism. The thesis of the determinist is that, “Every event (including human actions) has a cause, and the chain of causes leading to any given action by an agent extends back in time to some point before the agent was born” (Koons, 2002, p. 81). This means that there is no such thing as free will, and that there is only one choice we could ever make “The determinist view of human freedom is typically based off of the scientific model of the physical universe” (Chaffee, 2013, p. 176). They believe that since events in the physical universe as well as the biological realm consistently display casual connections, and because humans are a part of the physical universe and biological realm, it is a reasonable assumption that all of our actions (and the choices that initiated the actions) are also casually determined, eliminating the possibility of free choice ( Chaffee, 2013, p. 176). Although, this doesn’t take into account the complex
Patrick C Smith
Ivy Tech Community College
The question that the textbook poses at the very beginning of chapter four is, “Are you Free” (Chaffee, 2013, p. 172)? Most people would look at this question as pretty cut and dry and would answer a resounding yes. Philosophically speaking, it is not that easy of an answer. You have to be willing to look at the question with an open mind, and ask yourself if the choices you make are truly free or if they are governed by forces outside of your control. In the following paper I intend to compare and contrast the three major philosophical viewpoints regarding this question, and come to a conclusion on which I find to be the right answer. I believe the best way to do this is to first lay out the beliefs of each viewpoint. Once I have done this I can compare them, and give my insight on which I believe to be right. The first viewpoint regarding human freedom is determinism. The thesis of the determinist is that, “Every event (including human actions) has a cause, and the chain of causes leading to any given action by an agent extends back in time to some point before the agent was born” (Koons, 2002, p. 81). This means that there is no such thing as free will, and that there is only one choice we could ever make “The determinist view of human freedom is typically based off of the scientific model of the physical universe” (Chaffee, 2013, p. 176). They believe that since events in the physical universe as well as the biological realm consistently display casual connections, and because humans are a part of the physical universe and biological realm, it is a reasonable assumption that all of our actions (and the choices that initiated the actions) are also casually determined, eliminating the possibility of free choice ( Chaffee, 2013, p. 176). Although, this doesn’t take into account the complex
References: Chaffee, J. (2013) The Philosopher’s Way. (4th Ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Smilansky, S. (2007, October) Determinism and Prepunishment: The Radical Nature of Compatibilism Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.columbus.libproxy.ivytech.edu.allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/ehost/detail?vid=5&sid=8fb7b398-f28d-49e4-bbf1-48c648f96700%40sessionmgr4&hid=14&bdata=JmxvZ2luLmFzcCZzaXRlPWVob3N0LWxpdmU%3d#db=aph&AN=26685054 Boaz, D. (1999, January 1) Key Concepts of Libertarianism Retrieved from http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/key-concepts-libertarianism Koons, J.R.. (2002) Is Hard Determinism a Form of Compatibilism? Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.columbus.libproxy.ivytech.edu.allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/ehost/detail?vid=7&sid=8fb7b398-f28d-49e4-bbf1-48c648f96700%40sessionmgr4&hid=14&bdata=JmxvZ2luLmFzcCZzaXRlPWVob3N0LWxpdmU%3d#db=aph&AN=6374002