Compatibilist Theories
What is Desire Theory
freedom is the power to do what you want to do
What is determinism
the state of the world at any given time and the laws of nature guarantee a single future state of the world
What is the ability to do otherwise condition
A person X's action A is free only if X was able to not do A
What is the paradox of free will?
F1) I have free will
F2) If determinism is true, I dont have free will
F3) If determinism is false, I dont have free will
What is the myth of Sisyphus
Sisyphus lives an eternal life, the only object of his life is to push a boulder to the top of the mountain. The boulder is always sent back down the mountain before making it to the top, forcing Sisyphus to push it again, and so on
What are second-order desires
Desires about first-order desires
1) a desire to have a first-order desire
2) a desire for some first-order desire to be your will
What does "state of the world at time t" mean
a complete list of
(i) every object that exists at t
(ii) the properties of those objects at t
What is an untouchable fact? Give examples
a fact that no human being in history has ever had the power to change
ex.) iron is magnetic, 2+2=4
Summarize the randomness argument in your own words.
What is the conclusion?
If determinism is false, then my decisions/actions are a matter of random chance
I don't control what occurs as a matter of random chance
Therefore, if determinism is false, I have no control over my decisions/actions
If determinism is false, there is no free will
What does optimism (in the meaning of life) mean
Our lives are—or at least could be—meaningful
What is the Sane Deep Self View
a person is free when (i) their deep self is in control of their will and (ii) they are sane
consider the following flawed speech:
"I could not possibly know that i would decide to go to UCF when I was a child and didn't even know what UCF was. So, it was not predetermined that i would go to UCF"
What is wrong with this assertion?
determinsim is not a thesis about what you know!
Analogy: before the coin flip, it was true that it was going it land on heads, even though none of us could've possibly known it would land on heads
What propositon do all incompatibilists agree with?
What proposition do some incompatibilists disagree on?
All agree that if determinism is true, we don't have free will
Disagree about whether free will exists
Explain the Bad Consequences Argument in your own words
BC1) Belief in hard incompatibilism has bad consequences (e.g., criminal punishment is unjustifiable if we remove moral responsibility)
BC2) we should not hold beliefs that result in bad consequences
BC3) Therefore, we should not believe in hard incompatibilism
What is the argument for pessimism
P1) Any life filled with activities that are repetitive and ultimately insignificant is meaningless (paramount case: Sisyphus)
P2) Our lives are filled with activities that are repetitive and ultimately insignificant
P3) Therefore, our lives are meaningless
However, Wolf doesn't think Jojo is free!
Why? Prob bc anyone in his position would do the same, it's out of his control but reality is NOT controling the "deep self"
Determinism: same input, same output
Things could have been otherwise if there was a different input, there would be a different output!
fatalism- there is only one possible first state of the world
What is libertarian incompatibilism?
What is Hard incompatibilism?
Libertarian incompatibilism = incompatibilism is true + we have free will
Hard incompatibilism = incompatibilism is true + we have no free will
Explain the "rollback intuition" as a defense of Randomness Arg. premise R1) If determinism is false, whether or not i lie is a matter of random chance
Alice faces decision to lie or tell the truth, her action is indeterminate until she makes it. She tells the truth.
If a god-like figure rewinded to a the second before she made that decsion, she may or may not do something different.
She could lie sometimes, tell truth other times. It's no different from flipping a coin!
What is Richard Taylor's objection to the first premise of the pessimism argument ("P1. Any life filled with activities that are repetitive and ultimately insignificant is meaningless")
Sisyphus on drugs- same details as previous Sisyphus, except this time he's on a drug that gives him the compulsion to roll stones. He now loves his eternal life and it is essentially heaven!
Now, his life is meaningful because he experiences fulfillment in his work!
Describe how these theories (Desire, Higher-Order Desire, Sane Deep Self) are compatible with determinism
Desire theory- Your desires cause your actions
Yes, your desires were already determined by the past and laws of nature, but that's fine!
Your desires and actions are just small parts in a long causal chain
Who are the theorists who believe determinism is incompatible with free will
Van Inwagen- the consequence argument
Pereboom (hard incompatibilist)
What is the Consequence Argument?
Summarize the premises and explain the conclusion. What position does the argument seek to prove?
Assume determinism is true
No human could've changed the state of the world in 65 mil BCE
No human could change the fact that the state of the world in 65 mil BCE would inevitably cause me to be in class today (if determinism is true)
Therefore, if determinism is true, no human could change the fact that I'm in class (not even me)
...thus... i couldn't have done otherwise than be in class, so I'm not in class freely
= incompatibilism!
analogy: it is justifyable to quarntine a contagious child to prevent them from killing others, even though they are not responsible for their sickness
Likewise, it is justifiable to inprison criminals to prevent them from harming society even though they are not morally responsible for their crimes
How does Wolf (objectivist about meaning in life) disagree with Taylor (subjectivist about meaning in life)
Wolf believes there is more to life being meaningful than just the experience of meaning
You could have "The Blob," who is fulfilled but passive,
"The CEO," who is active but whose goal lacks positive value,
or "The Failed Entrepreneur," whose goal has positive value, but isn't successful
For a meaningful life, you want to be actively and (somewhat) successfully engaged in something with positive value