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Flashcards in 1 Free Will Deck (29)
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1
Q

Who said: ‘in moral, the proper worth of an absolutely good will consists precisely in the freedom of the principle of action from all influences.’

A

Kant

2
Q

What does Kant think about free will?

A

That humans are free to make rational choices, and that without freedom the possibility of making moral choices is denied.

3
Q

Who believes that moral responsibility requires freedom?

A

Libertarians

4
Q

Why are libertarians incompatibilists?

A

They think free will is incompatible with determinism.

5
Q

Who said: ‘man chooses not of necessity but freely’

A

Aquinas

6
Q

Who says character traits that may develop in life experience may have formed indeterministically in self forming actions, our actions may flow from our character yet are free from determinism

A

Robert Kane

7
Q

What is John Locke’s analogy of a man in a locked room?

A

He might never choose to try to leave the room, but believes he could by walking through the door.

8
Q

Who thinks we might believes we have free will and feel we can choose many options but in fact out moral choices are determined by factors beyond our control?

A

John Locke, who uses the analogy of a man in a locked room to illustrate this.

9
Q

What was McKenna’s analogy of a poker player?

A

That one player has no power over the other player drawing a card that allows the other player to beat him.

10
Q

Who suggests that if we don’t have freedom we shouldn’t be blamed by punishments?

A

McKenna, who uses the analogy of a poker player to show that because the player had no freedom over the outcome he can’t be blamed for losing.

11
Q

What did Aristotle say about being wicked?

A

That if a man does wicked acts because of his character, he is responsible for forming the wicked character in the past from which the acts came.

12
Q

What does Dennet think about moral responsibility when you couldn’t do otherwise?

A

You are morally responsible even if you couldn’t have done otherwise. He uses the example of Luther breaking from the Catholic Church saying ‘I could do no other’ - he is not disowning responsibility but taking full responsibility for acting on his free will.

13
Q

What does Kane think about self forming actions?

A

We often act according to a will already formed, but it was formed in the past by our own actions caused by our free will.

14
Q

What does Kane say about free will and ultimate responsibility?

A

That to have responsibility there can be no earlier influence sufficient enough to determine our subsequent actions - they must be causally undetermined, so he is an incompatiblist.

15
Q

Who said ‘ought implies can’ and what does it mean?

A

Kant - if we feel a moral imperative we must be able to do it.

16
Q

What does Hobbes think liberty is?

A

To not be physically restrained rather than being uncaused.

17
Q

What does Hobbes think being unfree is?

A

Being coerced by others.

18
Q

What does the law use to suggest someone was not fully responsible for their crime?

A

Diminished responsibility.

19
Q

What might libertarians say to those who say they had no choice?

A

They did have alternative choices, but didn’t like them.

20
Q

How does Jesus sacrifice on the cross suggest that humans are responsible for their wrongdoings?

A

He takes the responsibility and punishment for what we have done wrong, surely this would be unnecessary if we were determined and had no moral responsibility.

21
Q

Is there moral responsibility in libertarianism?

A

Yes: Kant believes morality and freedom are linked, if we’re free we’re morally responsible.
Need to take responsibility not to harm others - Mill and harm principle.
Satre - existence precedes essence - actions can’t be explained by human nature so we’re fully responsible.
Libs don’t advocate antinomianism so some should be some limits.
No: responsibility diminishes with influces eg. if you’re curtailed or coerced (Hobbes)/
Real liberty means freedom from responsibility.
If all actions random and uncaused and disconnected from our desires how can we be held responsible?

22
Q

What does Satre say?

A

“existence precedes essence”

23
Q

What does Satre “existence precedes essence” mean?

A

Actions can’t be explained by human nature therefore we are fully responsible for them. Someone doesn’t tell the truth because they’re honest, but are defined as honest because they constantly tell the truth.

24
Q

How do libertarians accept that people can’t have no limits?

A

They start by asking ‘‘what limits, if any, shall we impose on freedom’ rather than ‘what shall we allow people to do, they don’t advocate antinomianism. Stops conflict of free wills etc.

25
Q

How might anti-realists respond to Locke?

A

They might reject the overarching truth that you don’t have free will - the truth is as you perceive it do if you personally believe you have free will then that is enough.

26
Q

How does Taylor show that free will is shown when making decisions?

A

“I deliberate in order to decide what to do, not to decide what it is that I am going to do.”

27
Q

How did Cook state reason shows determinism is wrong?

A

Fundamental to the ability to reason is freedom of thought.

28
Q

“Praise and blame are confined to voluntary actions”

A

Plato

29
Q

How do libertarians show not everything in hype world has causation?

A

Chaos theory and quantum mechanics.