Abstract
AbstractHuman freedom is in tension with nomological determinism and with statistical determinism. The goal of this paper is to answer both challenges. Four contributions are made to the free-will debate. First, we propose a classification of scientific theories based on how much freedom they allow. We take into account that indeterminism comes in different degrees and that both the laws and the auxiliary conditions can place constraints. A scientific worldview pulls towards one end of this classification, while libertarianism pulls towards the other end of the spectrum. Second, inspired by Hoefer, we argue that an interval of auxiliary conditions corresponds to a region in phase space, and to a bundle of possible block universes. We thus make room for a form of non-nomological indeterminism. Third, we combine crucial elements from the works of Hoefer and List; we attempt to give a libertarian reading of this combination. On our proposal, throughout spacetime, there is a certain amount of freedom (equivalent to setting the initial, intermediate, or final conditions) that can be interpreted as the result of agential choices. Fourth, we focus on the principle of alternative possibilities throughout and propose three ways of strengthening it.
Funder
Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
General Social Sciences,Philosophy
Reference46 articles.
1. Bordoni, S. (2017). When historiography met epistemology: sophisticated histories and philosophies of science in French-speaking countries in the second half of the nineteenth century. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV.
2. Boussinesq, J. V. (1879). Conciliation du véritable déterminisme mécanique avec l’existence de la vie et de la liberté morale. Mémoires de la société des sciences de l’agriculture et des arts de Lille, 6, 25–256.
3. Buckle, H. T. (1865). Histoire de la Civilisation en Angleterre. Paris: Librairie Internationale A. Lacroix.
4. Butterfield, J. (2012). Laws, causation and dynamics at different levels. Interface Focus, 2, 101–114.
5. Earman, J. (1986). A primer on determinism. In R. E. Butts (Ed.), University of Western Ontario series in Philosophy of Science. Dordrecht: Reidel.
Cited by
5 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献