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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A paper which considers the possibility of reconciling determinism with free will, with reference to causality and moral responsibility, and looks at the opposing theories of compatibilism and incompatibilism.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: JL5_JLcompat.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
that all physical events, which would include human thoughts, decision-making, and actions, are the result of a causal chain of previous occurrences. Outcomes, therefore, have already been determined and there
is no such thing as free will. In the western world it is associated with Newtonian physics and the "billiard ball theory", which states that if one knows everything about
physical matter and about the physical laws which govern it, one can predict all possible events much as one can predict the paths billiard balls take as they strike one
another. It does not matter what decision one takes, since according to determinism, that will be the decision which has already been "decided upon". Clearly, this has an impact on
whether or not one is morally responsible for ones actions. Determinism has been interpreted in various ways, however, as has free will. It is,
to a great extent, these variations in interpretations which have led to different concepts such as compatibilism and incompatibilism. One might define free will as the existence of a truly
independent agency, or as the feeling of such agency which human beings have when they perform an action. One might be heavily influenced by external factors in developing ones belief
system and ones desires, but there must still be an element of freedom if one is to turn those desires into action. Compatibilism
argues that it is possible to reconcile determinism and free will: incompatibilism states that it is not. Hard determinism asserts that free will permits genuine choices (alternative possibilities for thoughts
and actions) and that this cannot be reconciled with determinism. The libertarian perspective, however, considers the possibility that physical events may be deterministic, but "mental events" are the product of
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