Philosophy PHIL-P 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Determinism
22 Sep 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Plays a role in the free will defense against the argument from evil. Free will is a big part of our self-conception. Fw may be what distinguished us from mere animals. Determinism - later events are determined by earlier events. Incompatibalism - fw and determinism are not compatible. ( seems plausible but they are inconsistent, only two can be true) If determinism is true, and i perform a, then i could have done otherwise only if i could have controlled the distant past or the laws of nature. I could not have changed the distant past. I could not have changed the distant past and i could not have changed the laws of nature. If determinism is true, then i could not have done otherwise than perform action a. If i could not have done otherwise, then i was not free. If determinism is true, i am not free. Soft determinism - accept free will and determinism but deny incompatibalism.
