Exam 4
How would the determinist respond to the libertarian objection "When I make a choice, I could always have chosen differently"?
"I could have chosen differently" means that "I could have chosen differently IF my psychological states had been different". This is circumstantial freedom NOT metaphysical freedom.
Causal Determinism Argument
1) Every event without exception is causally determined by prior events 2) Human thoughts, choices, and actions are events (events in the brain) 3) Therefore human actions, thoughts, and choices are causally determined by prior events 4) If (3) then humans lack metaphysical freedom 5) Thus, humans lack metaphysical freedom
Determinism and theology argument
1) If God exists then God is all powerful. 2) If God is all powerful, the God controls and dictates everything. 3) If God controls everything, the God controls you. 4) If God controls you then you do not control yourself. 5) If you do not control yourself, you do not have metaphysical freedom. 6) Thus, if God exists, you do not have metaphysical freedom.
About the thesis of determinism compatibilists believe which of the following? A) Determinism is true. B) Determinism is false. C) We can never know whether determinism is true or false. D) Most events are determined, but some events are expressions of metaphysical freedom.
A
Libertarian issues with determinism
A) Determined vs Influenced: Determined means guaranteed and certain while influenced means predisposed to. B) Cause vs Reason: The ability to reason allows us to act against causation. C) Methodology vs Metaphysics: It is scientifically useful to assume determinism is true, but that does not make it metaphysically true.
Argument for Libertarianism
A) Moral responsibility: We must hold people responsible for their actions - the determinist argument against moral responsibility is absurd. B) Deliberation: The fact that we deliberate proves that we are free. If determinism were true, there would be NO deliberation - actions would be automatic. C) Introspection: To me, my choices are free. My choices FEEL free. We have authority over our own minds.
The problem with free will
A) We believe we have metaphysical freedom B) We believe in the laws of nature (Universal causation) C) A and B conflict and cannot exist together
Compatibilism
All events are determined but we still have free will.
Quantum Mechanics and Free Will
At the sub atomic level, events are probabilistic rather than deterministic, and some sub atomic events are left undetermined and random. Therefore determinism is technically false.
A compatibilist is best described as one who believes A) that metaphysical freedom can still exist even if determinism is true B) that the freedom required for moral responsibility can still exist even if determinism is true C) that circumstantial and metaphysical freedom can coexist D) that metaphysical freedom and the freedom required for moral responsibility can coexist
B
Darrow's attitude toward criminals can best be summarized by which of the following? A) They shouldn't ever be put in jail since they aren't morally responsible for their actions. B) They should be jailed when necessary to protect the public and treated for their psychological problems. C) They should be put in jail as retribution for their moral transgressions. D) They should be given much tougher jail sentences than was typical in Darrow's day.
B
On what point do hard determinists and libertarians agree? A) We are determined. B) If we are determined, then we lack the freedom necessary to be morally responsible. C) We are morally responsible. D) None of the above
B
One of Stace's examples of a free act is A) not eating in the desert because there's no food B) stealing bread because one is hungry C) stealing because one's employer threatened to beat one D) signing a confession because the police beat one
B
The claim that we are "condemned to be free" was made by A) Jean-Paul Sartre B) W. T. Stace C) Richard Taylor D) Roderick Chisholm
B
Which of the arguments below is not a positive argument for libertarianism discussed in your text? A) the argument from introspection B) the argument from the success of neuroscience C) the argument from deliberation D) the argument from moral responsibility
B
Which of the claims below best characterizes Stace's analysis of the free will problem? A) It's a scientific problem and not a philosophical one. B) It's merely a verbal problem based on an incorrect definition of free will. C) It's a problem that is beyond the human capacity to solve. D) It's a problem that can be resolved by appeal to methodological skepticism.
B
Which of the following is not is not generally considered to be a criticism of libertarianism? A) It is in conflict with the scientific view of the world. B) It confuses the methodological assumptions of science with metaphysical conclusions. C) It requires the problematic notion of uncaused events. D) It fails to explain the fact that we can influence other people's behavior.
B
Which of the following statements best captures what Sartre would say about the claim that cowardice is an unchangeable part of one's nature? A) It's an example of overestimating one's transcendence. B) It's an example of a realistic recognition in light of the overwhelming evidence of the truth of determinism. C) It's an example of failing to accept one's facticity. D) It's an example of bad faith.
B
Radical behaviorism, the view that all mental terms can be reduced to scientific statements about behavioral probabilities, was developed by _________
B.F. Skinner
The psychological theory that limits the scope of psychology to the scientific study of publicly observable behaviors and their causes while rejecting any explanations that refer to interior mental states or processes is known as ___________.
Behaviorism
Libet Experiment
Button choice in MRI. Explores source and timing of decisions. Concludes that unconscious brain activity comes before conscious choice. Your conscious/introspective choice is preceded and caused by brain activity.
Agency theory is defended by A) Jean-Paul Sartre B) W. T. Stace C) Richard Taylor D) None of the above
C
On what point do libertarians and compatibilists agree? A) We are determined. B) If we are determined, then we lack the freedom necessary to be morally responsible. C) We are morally responsible. D) None of the above
C
When considering the question of free will, which of the following best describes the difference between a hard determinist and a libertarian? A) A libertarian argues against both metaphysical and circumstantial freedom, while a hard determinist argues only against metaphysical freedom. B) A hard determinist argues against both metaphysical and circumstantial freedom, while a libertarian argues only against metaphysical freedom. C) A hard determinist does not believe in metaphysical freedom, while a libertarian does. D) A hard determinist believes in metaphysical freedom, while a libertarian does not.
C
With which of the following statements would Spinoza disagree? A) Determinism is true. B) Everything in nature is simply an aspect of God. C) Although human actions are all necessitated, God acts from freedom of the will. D) Freedom of the will is an illusion based on ignorance.
C
With which of the statements below would a compatibilist agree? A) Free actions are actions exhibiting circumstantial freedom. B) Free actions are actions that are voluntary. C) Free actions are actions directly stemming from internal rather than external causes. D) All of the above
C
Free choice/action (according to compatibilism)
Choices/actions whose immediate cause is an internal psychological state of the subject; voluntary choice or action.
Unfree choice/action
Choices/actions whose immediate cause is external to the subject; involuntary choice/action.
Another name for soft determinism is ________
Compatibilism
Assuming you want to go out to see a movie, which of the situations below exhibits a lack of circumstantial freedom to do so? A) being locked in jail B) having a man with a gun order you to do something else C) being lost in the jungle with no access to a movie theater D) all of the above
D
If you believe in incompatibilism it's logically consistent for you also to believe in A) libertarianism B) hard determinism C) determinism D) all of the above
D
Which of the following is not generally considered to be a criticism of determinism? A) It undermines the idea of rationality. B) It makes unwarranted generalizations from a limited amount of evidence. C) It confuses the methodological assumptions of science with metaphysical conclusions. D) It relies on the existence of a very specific definition of God.
D
Which statement below best captures the hard determinist's position on determinism and moral responsibility? A) They are compatible with one another, determinism is true, and we do have moral responsibility. B) Determinism is true, and while this is compatible with moral responsibility, as a matter of fact moral responsibility doesn't exist. C) They are incompatible, and we do have moral responsibility. Therefore, determinism is false. D) They are incompatible, and determinism is true. Therefore, there is no moral responsibility.
D
With which of the following statements would Skinner agree? A) Determinism is true. B) A science of behavior could solve many behavioral problems found in society. C) We lack metaphysical freedom. D) All of the above
D
Clarence __________was the lawyer in the Leopold and Loeb trial who argued that the defendants were merely victims of their circumstances, no more accountable for their actions than they were responsible for their eye color.
Darrow
T/F A fundamental tenet of libertarianism is that when it comes to human action there's no distinction between causes and reasons.
F
T/F According to Sartre, exercising bad faith means participating in religious practices and rituals but not following the ethical demands of one's religion.
F
T/F According to a compatibilist, to say that an action is voluntary is to say that it lacks determining causes.
F
T/F Compatibilists accept the truth of the claim "I could have done otherwise" only to the extent that it's interpreted as meaning "I could have done something else if the psychological and physical conditions preceding the action had been different."
F
T/F Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground presents a very positive attitude toward determinism.
F
T/F If you have circumstantial freedom, then you automatically thereby have metaphysical freedom.
F
T/F Sartre takes the existence of radical existential freedom to be compatible with the truth of determinism.
F
T/F To be a determinist you must be a physicalist.
F
T/F To be a libertarian one must accept that all human actions are free and undetermined
F
T/F Unlike hard determinists, soft determinists think determinism is true most of the time but that it has some exceptions.
F
T/F Compatibilists would argue that while we have metaphysical freedom, we do not have circumstantial freedom
F - Compatibilists would argue that while we have circumstatial freedom, we do not have metaphysical freedom
Negative account of Compatibilism
Free does not mean uncaused. Randomness does not make a person's actions free but rather, nonsensical. Free will REQUIRES determinism.
Libertarianism
Free will exists. Most events are determined but not ALL.
A _________ holds both that 1) metaphysical freedom is necessary for moral responsibility and that 2) we lack metaphysical freedom.
Hard determinist
Determinism objection to compatibilism
Hypnotist: immediate cause of a hypnotized person's actions are their own psychological states, however the psychological state was put there by the hypnotist. They are not free, but they are action on the definition of free.
Hard Determinism
IF determinism is true then humans can neither be punished nor praised for their actions. If everyone's actions are the inevitable result of prior causes, then we cannot be held morally responsible for our actions.
Why does the idea of free will not make sense according to determinism?
If your choice is controlled by your own free will, what caused your free will?
Determinist response to Libertarianism
Just because something is absurd or impractical does not necessarily make it untrue. You may feel like you have free will, but experience is often mistaken. Volitional acts seem/feel like they are consciously willed, but the conscious will itself is the inevitable result of brain activity.
Someone who believes in _________ in the free will debate is one who asserts that we do have metaphysical freedom.
Libertarianism
Does the Quantum Mechanics argument support Libertarianism? Why or Why not?
No because it suggests that EVERYTHING has free will. Quantum indeterminacy only effects the microscopic. We are macroscopic. Metaphysical freedom does not mean randomness, as we cannot do anything random.
The determinist equation
Psychological state (thought, belief, desire, emotion, preference) + External circumstances (surrounding circumstances or stimuli) = event (behavior, choice, next psychological state)
Libertarian agency theory
Some events are neither due to prior causes nor random, but caused by a free agent. All events have a cause, but LAT claims that agents are a unique exception to event causation found in 99.9% of the universe.
Pantheism
Spinoza; Everything in nature, including individual persons, are modes or aspects of God's being. Deterministic
One supporter of traditional compatibilism discussed in your text is W. T. __________
Stace
T/F "Compatibilism" and "soft determinism" are different names for the same theory.
T
T/F A compatibilist would say that even if one has a strong desire to act in a certain way, one always could have done otherwise through willpower.
T
T/F A determinist can acknowledge that human behavior may sometimes be unpredictable in practice.
T
T/F A determinist claims that every event is 100% determined by prior causes.
T
T/F Both hard determinists and compatibilists believe that determinism is true.
T
T/F Both libertarians and hard determinists agree that if determinism were true, then we'd lack the freedom needed for moral responsibility.
T
T/F Compatibilists would argue that both free and unfree actions are 100% causally determined.
T
T/F If determinism were true, then a science of human behavior would be at least theoretically possible.
T
T/F Libertarians insist that if determinism were true there would be no room in the world for moral responsibility.
T
T/F Skinner's behaviorism is a form of determinism.
T
T/F The controversial type of freedom in the free will debate is metaphysical freedom.
T
Circumstantial (Negative) Freedom
The ability/opportunity to perform whatever action we choose; that is freedom from external forces, obstacles, and natural limitations that compel our actions.
Determinism
The claim that all events are the necessary and inevitable result of prior causes
Metaphysical (Positive) Freedom
The power of the self to choose among genuine alternatives; external circumstances are not sufficient for making a particular choice.
One who believes that God is the ultimate cause of everything that happens in the world, including human actions is a ___________ determinist.
Theological
Moral Responsibility and compatibilism
We interject causes, to make things how we want them to be. I.e. praise/punishment to influence proper behavior, studying to influence better grades etc. Moral responsibility assumes and requires determinism. It would be pointless to praise or punish uncaused actions.
Positive account of Compatibilism
Words get their meaning from linguistic context. in context, "free" is always used to mean uncoerced or noncompelled by external forces. All are caused, but not all are uncaused.
The version of libertarianism that rejects both determinism and indeterminism and that claims instead that events are brought about by agents is known as ______________
agency theory
According to Sartre, when we deny our freedom and our responsibility for who we are we are guilty of _________
bad faith
A compatibilist denies that metaphysical freedom is required for free actions and moral responsibility, claiming instead that __________freedom is sufficient.
circumstantial
The ability and the opportunity to perform whatever action we choose is known as __________ freedom.
circumstantial
The claim that all events are the necessary results of previous causes is the thesis of ________
determinism
Richard Taylor believes agent-causation occurs when an event is brought about through the free action of a person, whereas __________ occurs when a prior event necessarily causes a subsequent event.
event-causation
Sartre's term for those features of our past or present that we were not free to choose and yet that seem to set limits on the course of our lives is __________
facticity
Since both hard determinists and libertarians agree that metaphysical freedom would be required for moral responsibility they both follow the doctrine of __________
incompatiblism
According to the compatibilist, free actions are those that are done voluntarily, i.e., those that stem directly from _________ causes rather than external ones.
internal
Spinoza's view of reality is known as ___________ , the belief that God constitutes the whole of reality and that everything in nature is a mode or aspect of God's being.
pantheism
Another name for compatibilism is ______________
soft determinism
The root of our freedom is called our __________ by Sartre.
transcendence