Free will, Theory of Mind, and Epistemology

Introduction

The concept of free will means freedom; the power to choose an absolute that is to be responsible for his actions. Free will implies some control on the part of the agent: control over his actions but also thoughts and emotions from which he will decide to act - control that also involves the ability to abstain. Free will is the condition of responsibility. Free will is one of the valuable gifts given by God to man through which we exercise the will to make our own decisions. Free will has been a subject of controversy for centuries. From the point of view of its potential, the man is free. It can act, do and think what they want, as it could get to avoid any external impediment prevented him. Therefore, free will is the natural inclination of every man to do whatever he pleases. The fact is that free will is not only limited on the other, but it is also conditioned by the law of causality. There is an important reason to limit our free will and the existence of a natural body within ourselves that is consciousness (Willig 201).

There are three major standpoints regarding the issue of freewill, these are compatibilism, Libertarianism, and Determinism. The ideas of Libertarianism and Determinism conflict in their approach regarding the nature of free will. In this paper, we are going have the debate on “Determinism and Libertarianism”. First the paper will define both the concepts and then it will present arguments by different authors regarding Determinism and Libertarianism.

Thesis Statement

Source of freedom is necessary in order to learn from experience and use it to decision making process.

Discussion

The issues related to free will come out from the ability to assign cause and effect to the entire natural world. The idea of free will is perceived as an illusion by A.J. Ayer because of the determined outcomes. He further says that, these can be predicted by the aright knowledge about the cause that will affect us in the future. On the other hand, a Libertarian like Roderick Chisholm perceives an idea which says, our freedom require a self which can intervenes in the decisions we make (Potter 115).

Determinism can be characterized as the philosophical conviction that every happening or activity is the inescapable outcome of preceding happenings and actions. Therefore, every happening or activity can be forecast in advance. Determinists usually do not accept the idea of free will. Determinists states that every human activity is affiliated with a causal sequence of happenings that proceed back indefinitely into the past.

Libertarianism says we take those causes and we do with them what we will, and the only will we have to call "free" is the freedom to think, or to not think, and then to act (Williams 89). Determinism wants us to believe that because we cannot change those things which cause us to act (like running from rain to stay dry; jumping off the tracks before we get hit ...