Great Philosophical Debates: Free Will and Determinism

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Free Will and Determinism - The Basic Debate
Episode overview
Explore with Professor Nichols the evolution of ideas about free will and determinism, one of the core questions in the history of philosophy. You learn three different ways to examine this age-old conundrum.
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Fate and Karma
Episode overview
Do we determine what happens next, or is it fate? What did the ancient Greeks believe about what controls our lives, and how does that differ from the Hindu concept of karma?
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Divine Predestination and Foreknowledge
Episode overview
For many theologians, the question of free will is complicated by the idea that God is all-knowing. Understand why John Calvin espoused the idea that God has already determined the .. show full overview
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Casual Determinism
Episode overview
Causal determinism posits that "events are inevitable because of what happened before." In this lecture, Professor Nichols describes branches of causal determinism such as the Stoics, .. show full overview
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Ancient and Medieval Determinism
Episode overview
Doesn't the fact that we think about what we want to do before we make a choice indicate that we have free will? That was the belief of indeterminists, such as Aristotle's follower .. show full overview
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Agent Causation
Episode overview
Are we the sole cause of our actions? Discover a nuanced perspective on free will, in which we can decide some of our own actions and choose to react to conditions around us, but we .. show full overview
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Ancient and Classical Compatibilism
Episode overview
Some philosophers maintain that there is no conflict between free will and determinism; they can coexist. Learn about compatibilism, the idea that some of our actions are determined by .. show full overview
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Contemporary Compatibilism
Episode overview
Professor Nichols looks at a modern view of compatibilism, as described by Princeton philosopher Harry Frankfurt, that our will is a desire that effectively produces behavior. We .. show full overview
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Hard Determinism
Episode overview
Hard determinism says that events in the world happen solely as the result of other events. French philosopher Baron D'Holbach, a naturalist who argued that nature orders the universe .. show full overview
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Free Will Impossibilism
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Contemplate the Buddhist idea that the self does not exist—mental activity is simply a series of events happening on their own. British philosopher Galen Strawson offers a similar .. show full overview
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The Belief in Free Will
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Libertarian Thomas Reid said that belief in free will was a universally human trait, across cultures developed at an early age. Hard determinists, on the other hand, maintain that we .. show full overview
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Physics and Free Will
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Here Professor Nichols delves into the world of quantum mechanics, explaining an interpretation of the random movement of particles as analogous to the indeterminist nature of the universe.
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Neuroscience and Determinism
Episode overview
Investigate a series of experiments in which animals demonstrated behavior that would be most beneficial to them in the wild, even under laboratory conditions. The result: .. show full overview
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Neuroscience of Conscious Choice
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Continuing to delve into how scientific study can influence our discussion of free will and determinism, Professor Nichols discusses experiments by Benjamin Libet that indicate that the .. show full overview
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Psychology and Free Will
Episode overview
Although we may believe we understand our own minds, motivations, and methods, many psychologists believe we do not have as much insight into the choices we make as we might think. This .. show full overview
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Deontological Ethics and Free Will
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Here we explore the age-old question of right and wrong, and how we make the choice between the two. Kant claimed that our intention—what we choose to do—is most important in reflecting .. show full overview
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Utilitarianism and Free Will
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Utilitarianism proposes that the consequences of an action are what matters most, regardless of one's intentions or motives. This theory does not depend on free will because one's .. show full overview
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Responsibility and Emotions
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Philosopher David Hume explored the relationship between emotions and morality in a theory known as sentimentalism, which states there is an emotional basis, not a rational one, for our .. show full overview
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Pessimism and Illusionism
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According to illusionists such as Saul Smilansky, we do not have free will but if everyone recognized that, our society would collapse. It is critical for people to believe in free .. show full overview
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Optimism and Skepticism
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Derk Pereboom argues that relinquishing our belief in free will could be good for us because we could let go of negative emotions such as anger, guilt, and resentment that stem from .. show full overview
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The Ethics of Punishment
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Examining the dark history of punishment in society and different views of punishment today, Professor Nichols describes backward-looking punishment that focuses simply on making a .. show full overview
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The Power of Punishment
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The question of free will is inherent in discussions of the effectiveness of punishment and whether retribution or rehabilitation will have a positive or negative effect on both the .. show full overview
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Moral Responsibility and Psychopathy
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While our justice system sometimes exonerates people with mental illness from their crimes, does that sense of mercy extend to others? Examine the recent history of psychopaths up to .. show full overview
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The Future of Responsibility
Episode overview
Professor Nichols concludes with a summary of the modern view of free will with an eye toward the future. How will neuroscience and the rule of law affect our ideas about free will and determinism?