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Libertarianism and Free Determined Decisions
Author(s) -
Lemos John
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
metaphilosophy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.475
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1467-9973
pISSN - 0026-1068
DOI - 10.1111/meta.12106
Subject(s) - libertarianism , free will , character (mathematics) , argument (complex analysis) , philosophy , compatibilism , epistemology , law and economics , indeterminism , law , determinism , sociology , political science , mathematics , chemistry , geometry , biochemistry
Free determined decisions are free decisions that are causally determined by the character of the agent. R obert K ane is a libertarian about free will who believes some of our free decisions are determined in this way. According to K ane, for a determined decision to be free it must proceed from the agent's character and the agent must have shaped that character through previous undetermined free decisions. In recent writings, M ark B alaguer has argued that human beings may well possess libertarian freedom, but he rejects K ane's view that free determined acts must proceed from a character that is constructed from prior undetermined free decisions. This essay explains B alaguer's argument for rejecting the K anean view and critically responds to it in defense of K ane's position on free determined decisions.