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FREEDOM AND DETERMINISM: A CONTEMPORARY DISCUSSION
Author(s) -
Pojman Louis P.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
zygon®
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-9744
pISSN - 0591-2385
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9744.1987.tb00780.x
Subject(s) - compatibilism , determinism , free will , causality (physics) , epistemology , event (particle physics) , set (abstract data type) , philosophy , incompatibilism , indeterminism , position (finance) , computer science , physics , economics , finance , quantum mechanics , programming language
. The problem of freedom of the will and determinism is one of the most intriguing and difficult in the whole area of philosophy. It constüutes a paradox. If we look at ourselves, at our ability to deliberate and make moral choices, it seems obvious that we are free. On the other hand, if we look at what we believe about causality (i.e., that every event and thing must have a cause), then it appears that we do not have free wills but are determined. Thus we seem to have inconsistent beliefs. In this paper I set forth and analyze the major contemporary arguments for free will and determinism as well as for compatibilism, the position that tries to combine insights from both theories. I end with a brief conclusion regarding my assessment of the status of the arguments.