Word Count: 712
Allyson Corlett
Professor Herdova
PHI 2010-0002
September 29, 2016
Does determinism rule out free will?
This question looks at whether or not determinism prevents free will. In order to fully understand
the question, determinism and free will need to be defined. There are two types of freedom. The
ability to act on our opinions and desires is known as surface freedoms. However, freedom is not
just about being able to do what you want, but being able to make a
free choice
. This is known as
deeper freedoms. Robert Kane suggests that to some extent our freedom to make choices can be
manipulated by the world we live in (for example through the media or the people we surround
ourselves with) and that we are behaviorally conditioned to only want certain things (
The Free
Will Problem
). In order to have free will, you have to be able to make free choices. Likewise, in
order for free will to exist we have to live in a world where there are alternative possibilities for
what can happen in the future.
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- Fall '14
- ROBERTS
- Philosophy
