Intro to Philosophy PDF

Intro to Philosophy 10/14 Free Will What is Free will? What is Free will? The capacity to choose on our accord. What is Free will? The capacity to choose on our accord. A distinctive feature of human agency What is Free will? The capacity to choose on our accord. A disti...

Intro to Philosophy 10/14 Free Will What is Free will? What is Free will? The capacity to choose on our accord. What is Free will? The capacity to choose on our accord. A distinctive feature of human agency What is Free will? The capacity to choose on our accord. A distinctive feature of human agency Opposed to non-free events, like blinking, bowel movements, rockslides… What is Free will? The capacity to choose on our accord. A distinctive feature of human agency Opposed to non-free events, like blinking, bowel movements, rockslides… Really important to determine questions about responsibility and desert What is Free will? The capacity to choose on our accord. A distinctive feature of human agency Opposed to non-free events, like blinking, bowel movements, rockslides… Really important to determine questions about responsibility and desert If we are not free, why would we be responsible for my actions? What is Free will? The capacity to choose on our accord. A distinctive feature of human agency Opposed to non-free events, like blinking, bowel movements, rockslides… Really important to determine questions about responsibility and desert If we are not free, why would we be responsible for my actions? Task: How should we define the concept of free will to capture these features? What is Free will? The capacity to choose on our accord. A distinctive feature of human agency Opposed to non-free events, like blinking, bowel movements, rockslides… Really important to determine questions about responsibility and desert If we are not free, why would we be responsible for my actions? Task: How should we define the concept of free will to capture these features? What in the world counts as free will? Where do we stand? Where do we stand? We considered a definition of Free Will that made sense of these features of the concept: The ability to do otherwise. Where do we stand? We considered a definition of Free Will that made sense of these features of the concept: The ability to do otherwise. But, we saw that it has problems with our understanding of the world. Where do we stand? We considered a definition of Free Will that made sense of these features of the concept: The ability to do otherwise. But, we saw that it has problems with our understanding of the world. General Scientific Religious So, what do we do? Do we keep defending Free Will as the ability to do otherwise? Do we change the definition of Free Will? Do we deny the existence of Free Will? Where do we stand? We considered a definition of Free Will that made sense of these features of the concept: The ability to do otherwise. But, we saw that it has problems with our understanding of the world. General Scientific Religious So, what do we do? Do we keep defending Free Will as the ability to do otherwise? Do we change the definition of Free Will? Do we deny the existence of Free Will? Consider three cases: Consider three cases: Jake Consider three cases: Wants to shoot Jake Consider three cases: Wants to shoot Jake Shoots Consider three cases: Wants to shoot Jake Shoots Consider three cases: Wants to shoot Jake Shoots Can we blame him? YES Consider three cases: Wants to shoot Jake Shoots Can we blame him? YES Consider three cases: Wants to shoot Jake Shoots Carlos Can we blame him? YES Consider three cases: Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Jake Shoots Carlos Can we blame him? YES Consider three cases: Doesn’t press the button Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Jake Shoots Carlos Can we blame him? YES Consider three cases: Doesn’t press the button Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Can we Jake Carlos blame him? YES Consider three cases: Doesn’t press the button Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Can we Jake Carlos blame him? YES Consider three cases: Doesn’t press the button Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Can we Jake Carlos blame him? YES YES Consider three cases: Doesn’t press the button Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Is he Jake Carlos responsible? YES YES Consider three cases: Doesn’t press the button Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Is he Jake Carlos Samir responsible? YES YES Consider three cases: Doesn’t press the button Doesn't want to shoot Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Is he Jake Carlos Samir responsible? YES YES Consider three cases: Doesn’t press the button Presses the button Doesn't want to shoot Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Is he Jake Carlos Samir responsible? YES YES Consider three cases: Doesn’t press the button Presses the button Doesn't want to shoot Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Shoots Is he Jake Carlos Samir responsible? YES YES Consider three cases: Doesn’t press the button Presses the button Doesn't want to shoot Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Shoots Is he Jake Carlos Samir responsible? YES YES Consider three cases: Doesn’t press the button Presses the button Doesn't want to shoot Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Shoots Is he Jake Carlos Samir responsible? YES YES NO Consider three cases: Doesn’t press the button Presses the button Doesn't want to shoot Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Shoots Is he Jake Carlos Samir responsible? YES YES NO Whatever made Jake responsible made Carlos responsible. Consider three cases: Doesn’t press the button Presses the button Doesn't want to shoot Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Shoots Is he Jake Carlos Samir responsible? YES YES NO Whatever made Jake responsible But Carlos and Samir are equally made Carlos responsible. determined! So, being determined doesn’t matter for responsibility? Free will is compatible with determinism Harry Frankfurt 1929 – 2023 Princeton, US We have a large amount of desires Be in Bogotá Ride a llama in Have a party on Timbuktu Friday Teach class Eat the best tofu in Write philosophy the world Develop a cure Donate to Charity for cancer Read Iris Murdoch Eat junk food Watch TV Play guitar We have a large amount of desires Some of them are actually connected to my actions: Be in Bogotá Call them Volitions that Ride a llama in constitute the Will. Have a party on Timbuktu Friday Teach class Eat the best tofu in Write philosophy the world Develop a cure Donate to Charity for cancer Read Iris Murdoch Eat junk food Watch TV Play guitar  We have a large amount of desires Some of them are actually Creatures like us have connected to my actions: Be in Bogotá another special kind of Call them Volitions that desire: Second-Order desires Ride a llama in constitute the Will. Have a party on Timbuktu Friday Teach class Eat the best tofu in Write philosophy the world Develop a cure Donate to Charity for cancer Read Iris Murdoch Eat junk food Watch TV Play guitar I want the I want the desire desire to eat to teach class to healthy to guide my actions. guide my actions I want the desire to donate to charity to guide my actions.  We have a large amount of desires Some of them are actually Creatures like us have connected to my actions: Be in Bogotá another special kind of Call them Volitions that desire: Second-Order desires Ride a llama in constitute the Will. Have a party on Timbuktu Friday Teach class Sometimes, S-O desires Eat the best tofu in Write philosophy are effective: the world Develop a cure Donate to Charity I want the desire to for cancer Read Iris Murdoch teach class to guide my Eat junk food Watch TV actions and the desire to teach class guides Play guitar I want the my actions. I want the desire desire to eat to teach class to healthy to guide my actions. guide my actions I want the desire to donate to charity to guide my actions.  We have a large amount of desires Some of them are actually Creatures like us have connected to my actions: Be in Bogotá another special kind of Call them Volitions that desire: Second-Order desires Ride a llama in constitute the Will. Have a party on Timbuktu Friday Teach class Sometimes, S-O desires Eat the best tofu in Write philosophy are not effective: the world Develop a cure Donate to Charity I want the desire to for cancer Read Iris Murdoch donate to charity to Eat junk food Watch TV guide my actions, but it doesn’t guide my Play guitar I want the actions I want the desire desire to eat to teach class to healthy to guide my actions. guide my actions I want the desire to donate to charity to guide my actions.  We have a large amount of desires Some of them are actually Creatures like us have connected to my actions: Be in Bogotá another special kind of Call them Volitions that desire: Second-Order desires Ride a llama in constitute the Will. Have a party on Timbuktu Friday Teach class Sometimes, S-O desires Eat the best tofu in Write philosophy are not effective: the world Develop a cure Donate to Charity I want the desire to eat for cancer Read Iris Murdoch healthy to guide my Eat junk food Watch TV actions, but I my actions are guided by Play guitar I want the the opposite volition! I want the desire desire to eat to teach class to healthy to guide my actions. guide my actions I want the desire to donate to charity to guide my actions. A being with only first-order volitions is a wanton. They have a desire and follow it. That’s the extent of their agency. A being with only first-order A being with first- and second- volitions is a wanton. order volitions is a person. They have a desire and follow it. They reflect on their agency. And ask, That’s the extent of their agency. ‘what kind of person do I want to be?’ How can Frunkfurt differentiate humans from other species by will? Don’t animals have more will than us? Animals will trek for miles to get to a destination, starve for days, endlessly prepare for winter, and stay alert for predators. Humans, on the other hand, do not have that willpower. They will choose not to go if it is too far. They choose the easy way out because of their lack of willpower. How come Frankfurt claims that is how we differentiate them?– Samantha Brown Given that first-order desires are found within animals and evolution exists, shouldn't it be possible for any animal to evolve out of first-order desires and into second-order desires? I ask this question because humans evolved from apes, and before that we evolved from lesser mammals, and before that we evolved from tetrapods, etc. This idea states that because we had the capacity for growth mentally, shouldn't that idea apply to other animals? This question is important because it blurs the lines between the two categories that Harry proposed. Also, how do other smarter creatures apply to these ideas (dolphins, octopi)? - Christopher Maldonado A being with only first-order A being with first- and second- volitions is a wanton. order volitions is a person. They have a desire and follow it. They reflect on their agency. And ask, That’s the extent of their agency. ‘what kind of person do I want to be?’ Frankfurt: Only persons can be free! Freedom of the Will is the ability to have the will I want to have. Freedom of the Will is the ability to have the will I want to have. Or: To act from the volitions we identify with. Freedom of the Will is the ability to have the will I want to have. Or: To act from the volitions we identify with. The desire to teach class guides my actions, and I want to the volition to teach class to guide my actions. Freedom of the Will is the ability to have the will I want to have. Or: To act from the volitions we identify with. The desire to teach class guides my actions, and I want to the volition to teach class to guide my actions. I identify with the volition of teaching class Freedom of the Will is the ability to have the will I want to have. Or: To act from the volitions we identify with. The desire to teach class guides my The desire to eat unhealthy food guides actions, and I want to the volition to my actions, but my actions are guided by teach class to guide my actions. the volition to eat junk food I identify with the volition of teaching class Freedom of the Will is the ability to have the will I want to have. Or: To act from the volitions we identify with. The desire to teach class guides my The desire to eat unhealthy food guides actions, and I want to the volition to my actions, but my actions are guided by teach class to guide my actions. the volition to eat junk food I identify with the volition of I am alienated from the volition of teaching class eating junk food Freedom of the Will is the ability to have the will I want to have. Or: To act from the volitions we identify with. The desire to teach class guides my The desire to eat unhealthy food guides actions, and I want to the volition to my actions, but my actions are guided by teach class to guide my actions. the volition to eat junk food I identify with the volition of I am alienated from the volition of teaching class eating junk food This is an expression of my This is not an expression of free will my fere will Freedom of the Will is the ability to have the will I want to have. Or: To act from the volitions we identify with. The desire to teach class guides my The desire to eat unhealthy food guides actions, and I want to the volition to my actions, but my actions are guided by teach class to guide my actions. the volition to eat junk food Note that the power to do otherwise doesn’t come up in this story. I am fully determined by my desires. Freedom of the will is a matter of the structure of my will. Whether my desires are structured in a particular manner.  Wants to shoot Jake Shoots Carlos Wants to shoot Doesn’t press the button Shoots Doesn't want to shoot Samir Presses the button Shoots  Doesn’t press the button Presses the button Doesn't want to shoot Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Shoots Jake Carlos Samir Have the desire to shoot and identifies with the desire to shoot  Doesn’t press the button Presses the button Doesn't want to shoot Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Shoots Jake Carlos Samir Have the desire to shoot and Is alienated from the desire to identifies with the desire to shoot shoot.  Doesn’t press the button Presses the button Doesn't want to shoot Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Shoots Jake Carlos Samir Have the desire to shoot and Is alienated from the desire to identifies with the desire to shoot shoot. Their action comes from His action does not come their free will. from his free will. Responsible Doesn’t press the button Presses the button Doesn't want to shoot Wants to shoot Wants to shoot Shoots Shoots Shoots Jake Carlos Samir Have the desire to shoot and Is alienated from the desire to identifies with the desire to shoot shoot. Their action comes from His action does not come their free will. from his free will. Again, we have said nothing about their power to do otherwise, or to generate uncaused actions, or to alter the causal path of the universe. It all comes to the structure of their agency. This is a compatibilist account of free will: It is compatible with determinism. What is Free will? The capacity to choose on our accord. A distinctive feature of human agency Opposed to non-free events, like blinking, bowel movements, rockslides… Really important to determine questions about responsibility and desert If we are not free, why would we be responsible for my actions? Definition 2: Free will is the ability to act accordingly to what we identify with. Attendance Codeword: AmIFree  Alex has an overwhelming first order-volition Blaine has an overwhelming first order- to eat Junk food because of the addictive volition to eat Junk food because of the ingredients have a particularly strong effect on addictive ingredients have a particularly strong his constitution. effect on his constitution.  Alex has an overwhelming first order-volition Blaine has an overwhelming first order- to eat Junk food because of the addictive volition to eat Junk food because of the ingredients have a particularly strong effect on addictive ingredients have a particularly strong his constitution. effect on his constitution. Alex really hates this desire, would Blaine Loves junk food, and it is an really like to be moved by other important part of their identity, they desires. But can’t help it. fully endorsed  Alex has an overwhelming first order-volition Blaine has an overwhelming first order- to eat Junk food because of the addictive volition to eat Junk food because of the ingredients have a particularly strong effect on addictive ingredients have a particularly strong his constitution. effect on his constitution. Alex really hates this desire, would Blaine Loves junk food, and it is an really like to be moved by other important part of their identity, they desires. But can’t help it. fully endorsed Both are equally determined to eat junk food.  Alex has an overwhelming first order-volition Blaine has an overwhelming first order- to eat Junk food because of the addictive volition to eat Junk food because of the ingredients have a particularly strong effect on addictive ingredients have a particularly strong his constitution. effect on his constitution. Alex really hates this desire, would Blaine Loves junk food, and it is an really like to be moved by other important part of their identity, they desires. But can’t help it. fully endorsed Both are equally determined to eat junk food. Alex is not freely eating junk food, so Blaine is freely eating junk food, so they are not responsible. they are responsible.  Alex has an overwhelming first order-volition Blaine has an overwhelming first order- to eat Junk food because of the addictive volition to eat Junk food because of the ingredients have a particularly strong effect on addictive ingredients have a particularly strong his constitution. effect on his constitution. Alex really hates this desire, would Blaine Loves junk food, and it is an really like to be moved by other important part of their identity, they desires. But can’t help it. fully endorsed Both are equally determined to eat junk food. Alex is not freely eating junk food, so Blaine is freely eating junk food, so they are not responsible. they are responsible. Objections?  Alex has an overwhelming first order-volition Blaine has an overwhelming first order- to eat Junk food because of the addictive volition to eat Junk food because of the ingredients have a particularly strong effect on addictive ingredients have a particularly strong his constitution. effect on his constitution. Alex really hates this desire, would Blaine Loves junk food, and it is an really like to be moved by other important part of their identity, they desires. But can’t help it. fully endorsed Both are equally determined to eat junk food. Alex is not freely eating junk food, so Blaine is freely eating junk food, so they are not responsible. they are responsible. Objections? Alex does not identify with the desire to Blaine Identifies with the desire to eat eat junk food. Therefore: not responsible. junk food. Therefore: Responsible Objection 1: Presumably, there are third- and fourth-order desires. And they can conflict. What makes second-order desires so special? But how can we know if a desire is genuinely dictated by free will? For example, some cultures believe in witchcraft and incantations. If this is true, would we have power over other people's free will? Since according to these cultures, with a little practice anyone would have the ability to control emotions or even actions of others. – Ariana Diaz Alex does not identify with the desire to Blaine Identifies with the desire to eat eat junk food. Therefore: not responsible. junk food. Therefore: Responsible Objection 1: Presumably, there are third- and fourth-order desires. And they can conflict. What makes second-order desires so special? Objection 2: Wait, second-order desires are still determined by upbringing, education, culture, etc. Why do they make us responsible? Objection 3: Why is Blaine responsible? Even if they wanted to change and do something else he would not be able. So why are we holding him responsible? Alex does not identify with the desire to Blaine Identifies with the desire to eat eat junk food. Therefore: not responsible. junk food. Therefore: Responsible Objection 1: Presumably, there are third- and fourth-order desires. And they can conflict. What makes second-order desires so special? Objection 2: Wait, second-order desires are still determined by upbringing, education, culture, etc. Why do they make us responsible? Objection 3: Why is Blaine responsible? Even if they wanted to change and do something else he would not be able. So why are we holding him responsible? Alex does not identify with the desire to Blaine Identifies with the desire to eat eat junk food. Therefore: not responsible. junk food. Therefore: Responsible Objection 1: Presumably, there are third- and fourth-order desires. And they can conflict. What makes second-order desires so special? Objection 2: Wait, second-order desires are still determined by upbringing, education, culture, etc. Why do they make us responsible? Objection 3: Why is Blaine responsible? Even if they wanted to change and do something else he would not be able. So why are we holding him responsible? Where are we? Where are we? We have free will and it explains responsibility. What is free will? Where are we? We have free will and it explains responsibility. What is free will? Libertarianism: The power to Compatibilism: The agency with do otherwise which we identify Where are we? We have free will and it explains responsibility. What is free will? Libertarianism: The power to Compatibilism: The agency with do otherwise which we identify Unexplained power. Fully explained sate of affairs. Incompatible with determinism. Compatible with determinism Where are we? We have free will and it explains responsibility. What is free will? Libertarianism: The power to Compatibilism: The agency with do otherwise which we identify Unexplained power. Fully explained sate of affairs. Incompatible with determinism. Compatible with determinism Captures the intuitive idea of Needs to revise the intuitive idea free will: We are only responsible for of free will: We can be responsible the events that fully came from us. from events that were determined externally. Where are we? We have free will and it explains responsibility. What is free will? Libertarianism: The power to Compatibilism: The agency with do otherwise which we identify Unexplained power. Fully explained sate of affairs. Incompatible with determinism. Compatible with determinism Captures the intuitive idea of Needs to revise the intuitive idea free will: We are only responsible for of free will: We can be responsible the events that fully came from us. from events that were determined externally. Which bullet do we bite? Is there a third option? Where are we? We have free will and it explains responsibility. What is free will? Libertarianism: The power to Compatibilism: The agency with do otherwise which we identify Unexplained power. Fully explained sate of affairs. Incompatible with determinism. Compatible with determinism Captures the intuitive idea of Needs to revise the intuitive idea free will: We are only responsible for of free will: We can be responsible the events that fully came from us. from events that were determined externally. Which bullet do we bite? Is there a third option?  Derk Pereboom & Hard Incompatibilism (1957- ) Cornell  Derk Pereboom & Our main concept of responsibility is based on Hard Incompatibilism backward-looking desert. A person would be fully responsible for an act when they could have done otherwise, and still chose to do it. (1957- ) Cornell  Derk Pereboom & Our main concept of responsibility is based on Hard Incompatibilism backward-looking desert. A person would be fully responsible for an act when they could have done otherwise, and still chose to do it. This requires free will understood as the power to do otherwise. If a person was free to act otherwise, then she is not fully responsible in this sense. (1957- ) Cornell  Derk Pereboom & Our main concept of responsibility is based on Hard Incompatibilism backward-looking desert. A person would be fully responsible for an act when they could have done otherwise, and still chose to do it. This requires free will understood as the power to do otherwise. If a person was free to act otherwise, then she is not fully responsible in this sense. But this power does not exist, for the reasons we have seen. We most probably live in a deterministic universe. Even if it was deterministic, it still unexplained. (1957- ) Cornell  Derk Pereboom & Our main concept of responsibility is based on Hard Incompatibilism backward-looking desert. A person would be fully responsible for an act when they could have done otherwise, and still chose to do it. This requires free will understood as the power to do otherwise. If a person was free to act otherwise, then she is not fully responsible in this sense. But this power does not exist, for the reasons we have seen. We most probably live in a deterministic universe. Even if it was deterministic, it still unexplained. So, the traditional notion of responsibility is helpless. Nobody is responsible (in the backward-looking sense). We can’t point to a moment of freedom for which a person was responsible for their past actions. (1957- ) Cornell  Derk Pereboom & Our main concept of responsibility is based on Hard Incompatibilism backward-looking desert. A person would be fully responsible for an act when they could have done otherwise, and still chose to do it. This requires free will understood as the power to do otherwise. If a person was free to act otherwise, then she is not fully responsible in this sense. But this power does not exist, for the reasons we have seen. We most probably live in a deterministic universe. Even if it was deterministic, it still unexplained. So, the traditional notion of responsibility is helpless. Nobody is responsible (in the backward-looking sense). We can’t point to a moment of freedom for which a person was responsible for their past actions. But we can change it and use a new one. A forward-looking conception of responsibility. (1957- ) We hold people responsible for the positive consequences that it may Cornell have for us. We can live a full life in a deterministic universe.  Do we have free will? Do we live in a deterministic universe? No Yes Libertarianism: Randomism (?): Compatibilism: Hard determinism: We live in an We live in an We live in a We live in a indeterministic universe, indeterministic deterministic universe, deterministic universe, so we have the ability to universe. But we don’t so we don’t have the so we don’t have the do otherwise. So, we’re have the ability to do ability to do otherwise. ability to do otherwise. free. otherwise. So, we’re But freedom is Therefore, we have no not free. something else, and we free will. have it.