文档介绍：:Problems of Philosophy
Prof. Sally Haslanger
October 31, 2001
Freewill I: Hard Determinism
1. What is our investment in freewill?
Not just a sentimental attachment:
● At the root of how anize our own lives (deliberation matters).
● At the root of how we interact with others (presupposed by praise and blame, punishment).
2. What is freewill? Consider when it is lacking
Airplane example: Jones leaves the plane...how?
● Straightjacket: pulsion
● Gunpoint: external duress
● Phobia: internal duress
What do they have mon? Action was unavoidable. This suggests:
Avoidability condition on freedom: I do something freely iff I could have acted otherwise.
3. Do we ever act freely?
Yes: compare the cases in which we hold people responsible and those in which we don't. Someone acting under
compulsion or duress might cause harm to others, but we don't hold her responsible. Others we do hold responsible: Hitler
is responsible for the pain and misery he caused, a person who cheats on an exam we hold responsible for his actions.
Since we do hold people responsible, and responsibility presupposes freedom, we sometimes act freely.
Flaw in argument: holding people responsible only shows that we believe they were free, not that they really are. What
evidence do we have in favor of freedom?
4. How do we know we are free?
Some say we kno