Strawson's Basic Argument Analysis

Determinists say “every action is determined by prior events”, and metaphysical libertarian argue that “people are free and morally responsible”; compatibilists join in the debate and interpose, “Free will is not at odds with determinism” (lecture 13). No matter what, I hope people have free will. I still think what I think and act as I think. I still doubt things outside my mind but not my ability to think freely and act freely. As D.H. Law Lawrence puts it, “Men are freest when they are most unconscious of freedom” (p256 text).

“Determinism is the philosophical idea that every event or state of affairs, including every human decision and action, is the inevitable and necessary consequence of antecedent states of affairs”(Information Philosopher, 2015). It refers to the claim that, at any moment or place in time, there is only one possible future for the whole universe. However, the concept of determinism often comes into question when looking into whether human beings possess free will. Free Will can be defined as “the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion” (Defence of Reason, 2014). The very definition of the terms determinism and free will appear to be conflicting however, many philosophical thinkers

Humans have free will because in the everyday lives on an individual they are presented with multiple choices, none of which render the need for a divine power. Saint Augustine states this in the text that individuals are aware of the presence of God, but know they can voluntarily act on the own choices. However, God has the power of foreknowledge. This is because the Lord created everything, meaning he must be aware of what is yet to happen. Augustine again asserts in Book V that God cannot exist without the ability for him to know the future.

This passage from Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, takes place on the planet of Tralfamadore, where the tralfamadorian is talking about the concept of free will, which is apparently, unique to earthlings. The passage goes on to further say that out of hundreds of planets, only on earth does the idea of free will exist. This passage argues that faith is futile, due to our lack of control of situations that occur around us. The tralfamadorian cannot understand the concept of free will. Free will, is the ability to make one’s own choices, however Slaughterhouse Five suggests throughout the novel, that free will, is not as free thinking as what was once thought.

In other words, free will dictates the level of responsibility we claim for our actions. If outside forces were to be in control of the choices we make, then we cannot be held responsible for our actions. However, if we have total freedom over the choices we make, then we certainly must claim responsibility over our actions. In Paul Holbach’s essay, “The Illusion of Freewill”, Holbach presents the argument that free will is simply an illusion that the human mind has created for us.

In "Human Freedom and the Self", Roderick Chisholm has taken a libertarian approach on the issue of free will and determinism. Libertarians believe that humans have free will and make a distinction that free will and determinism are incompatible. Chisholm has the same opinion. On the problem of human freedom, Chisholm thinks that “Human beings are responsible agents; but this fact appears to conflict with a deterministic view of human action (the view that every event that is involved in an act is caused by some other event); and it also appears to conflict with an indeterministic view of human action (the view that the act, or some event that is essential to the act, is not caused at all).”(Page 3). He does not agree that determinism or indeterminism

Free will allows freedom of choice. Free will is the ability to choose with intelligence and common sense. Our choices cannot be completely free from our knowledge, values, perceptions of everyday life and the things around us. Our choices are not free from the influence of our past thoughts and decisions. The freedom of free will is not discrediting influencing factors such as our own self-awareness, our ability to seek out knowledge and project the future, and our awareness of our own thinking.

Free will includes humans acting as their own agent's and making the choice to do something or not do it. In order for humans to make a choice morality has to be involved in free will. So that a human will have the capacity to make a choice and understand what that choice means, and what effect that choice will have, whether the choice is to do good or evil. One of the objections put forth against free will is that God is omnipotent and knows and sees all. This means that God knows the future and the past.

Destiny over Free will Free will is a term unheard of nowhere days because of how much the media portrays that we have to do what other people say such as politicians. Some people are destined to think that everything we say and do has already been written out in a script somewhere in heaven and that God already knows what we are going to do before we even do it. People do not possess free will but are governed by fate because in Dante's Inferno the people who were brought down to hell were brought down because they were destined to go down the wrong path and that's why they are in hell and there are special places for people whose fate was a little too heinous and they were forced to go in the middle of heaven and hell and sometimes other people are also destined to lead us to our fate such as Virgil in Dante's inferno. People do not possess free will but are governed by fate because we think we have a choice to change our decisions but what if

Finally, the quality of counterargument expressed throughout Garretson’s essay, has also been effected by her biased stance on vegetarianism, because she has been unable to display and acknowledge opposing views in her piece. It is very important for one to present counterarguments in their writing because it shows that the writer is not narrow-minded, and instead, is fair by considering other perspectives. Additionally, the use of counterargument adds credibility to a writing and makes the arguments that one presents more believable and trustworthy. Since Garretson does not display or acknowledge any opposing views in her essay, her arguments lose a great deal of credibility. There are many different approaches that Garretson could have taken

Callarman’s argument is that Chris McCandless made a lot of mistakes because he was arrogant and that he had no business going into Alaska with his Romantic silliness and he says that he was just crazy. I disagree with Callarman’s argument because I think that Chris McCandless (Alexander Supertramp) was not arrogant I think that he just wanted to learn new things. I also disagree because I think that Chris did have a reason to go to Alaska or else he would not have done it even if it just to go because he likes nature, and I don’t think that he was crazy at the beginning but I agree that he did start to get crazy when he was stuck in the wild on the bus.

In Ben Robert-Smith’s opinion piece published in the Herald Sun on the 16th of January, 2017 “We Are One but We Are Many”, Robert- Smith addresses he Addresses the Australian public with the argument that is changing the date of Australia day from January 26th. He argues that the date should remain the same but should be undertaken in a manner that is “inclusive and respectful” of other Australian’s interpretation of the day. Comparatively, in Kevin V. Russell’s Letter to the Editor he presents the argument from an alternate perspective. Russell believes that the day should be changed to a day “all Australian’s can acknowledge” and that “Australia day has outlived its usefulness”. Russell’s argument is delivered in a rather blunt and passive

During the mid 1800s, the pro-slavery argument was at its strongest. The Proslavery Argument by Boundless, an online textbook, discusses the famous Mudsill Speech of James Henry Hammond which stated that the pro-slavery political argument, an ideology that defended a class-sensitive view of American antebellum society. He believed that many past societies carried the burden of the existence of a class of landless poor. Continually, other southern pro-slavery theorists felt that this class of landless poor was “inherently transient and easily manipulated, and as such often destabilized society as a whole” (Boundless). Thus, the greatest threat to democracy was seen as coming from “class warfare that destabilized a nation's economy, society and

I chose Prompt #1 and personally I find Callarman 's argument very valid. I agree with him completely in the sense that it was not a good idea for McCandless to leave the safe environment that his parents created for him by paying for his college education making it easy for him to fall into a career and get his life started. It was very selfish of him to have his parents pay for his education then just throw it away like it was nothing. McCandless had a good idea of going out and finding himself but he should have executed it differently. I think that he wasn’t trying to be arrogant but at the beginning he was without realizing it. He went into his adventure desiring the feeling of accomplishment and to find out what the meaning of life was

Taylor’s philosophy and view on determinism, free will and moral responsibility reflects the libertarian philosophic position. He attaches large importance to free will and free choice of a person. Taylor asserts that “certain events (namely, human choices) are not completely determined by preceding events; rather, they are caused by the agent of the choice (the person doing the choosing)” (Free Will). This view differs from that of Blatchford, Schlick and Hospers who deny free choice concluding that everything is determined in our decisions and actions.