Free Will I (handout)

While the question concerning the truth of determinism may be an empirical question, that is, it will be settled by the various sciences, philosophers are particularly interested in whether or not the hypothetical truth of determinism would rule out free will. In this lecture, we look at two opposing positions on this issue: those who think that determinism is compatible with having free will (compatibilists) and those think that determinism undermines freedom (incompatibilists).

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

While the question concerning the truth of determinism may be an empirical question, that is, it will be settled by the various sciences, philosophers are particularly interested in whether or not the hypothetical truth of determinism would rule out free will. In this lecture, we look at two opposing positions on this issue: those who think that determinism is compatible with having free will (compatibilists) and those think that determinism undermines freedom (incompatibilists).

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

If the world is causally determined, does this mean people no longer have free will? Or is being free compatible with determinism. In this lecture, I discuss two opposing positions regarding the existence of free will even though both agree that genuine free will is incompatible with determinism. On the one hand, there are hard determinists who think that because determinism is true, then this means that free will does not exist. On the other hand, there are libertarians who think that the falsity of determinism leads to the actual existence of an agent that chooses freely.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

If the world is causally determined, does this mean people no longer have free will? Or is being free compatible with determinism. In this lecture, I discuss two opposing positions regarding the existence of free will even though both agree that genuine free will is incompatible with determinism. On the one hand, there are hard determinists who think that because determinism is true, then this means that free will does not exist. On the other hand, there are libertarians who think that the falsity of determinism leads to the actual existence of an agent that chooses freely.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Two of the most vocal critics of the idea that information processing machines may be said to think, or show intelligence, are Hubert Dreyfus and John Searle. This lecture briefly addresses some of Dreyfus' thoughts in this regard, which hinge on the contrast between know-how and knowledge-that, before turning to consider Searle's famous "Chinese Room" thought experiment and the various replies that have been made to it.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Two of the most vocal critics of the idea that information processing machines may be said to think, or show intelligence, are Hubert Dreyfus and John Searle. This lecture briefly addresses some of Dreyfus' thoughts in this regard, which hinge on the contrast between know-how and knowledge-that, before turning to consider Searle's famous "Chinese Room" thought experiment and the various replies that have been made to it.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

This lecture introduces students to the work of Alan Turing and the project of creating Artificial Intelligence that he played a significant role in inaugurating. We consider some of the objections to standard forms of AI (but not necessarily all) posed by Hubert Dreyfus in various of his books.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

This lecture introduces students to the work of Alan Turing and the project of creating Artificial Intelligence that he played a significant role in inaugurating. We consider some of the objections to standard forms of AI (but not necessarily all) posed by Hubert Dreyfus in various of his books.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

In this lecture we discuss two competing solutions to the mind-body problem. First, we look at the identity theory of mind, or reductive materialism, which says that the mind is identical to the brain. Then, we look at property dualism, which agrees with the materialist that there is only one type of substance but differs on the type of properties the substance can have.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

In this lecture we discuss two competing solutions to the mind-body problem. First, we look at the identity theory of mind, or reductive materialism, which says that the mind is identical to the brain. Then, we look at property dualism, which agrees with the materialist that there is only one type of substance but differs on the type of properties the substance can have.

Copyright 2013 Jack Reynolds / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.