The Philosopher's Way
A Text with Readings
FIFTH EDITION
CHAPTER
4
are you free?
Freedom and Determinism
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Who controls your life? The puppet, created for the Tbilisi Marionette Theatre, is controlled by forces hidden
from public view. In this chapter, you will explore whether this metaphor is applicable to your life and the choices
you make.
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Learning Objectives
4.1 Discuss the question "Are you the
master of your fate?"
4.2 Explain the determinist view of
human freedom.
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Learning Objectives
4.3 Define compatibilism, the view that
attempts to find a common ground
between "hard" determinism and
indeterminism (or libertarianism).
4.4 Explain the distinctions between
indeterminism and libertarianism.
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Learning Objectives
4.5 Discuss feminists' philosophies of
freedom.
4.6 Analyze the connection between
neuroscience and free will.
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Chapter Overview
Click here in presentation mode to view a video on freedom and determinism.
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4.1 Are You the Master of Your
Fate?
• Determinism




Human nature
The environment
Psychological forces
Social dynamics
• Compatibilism
• Indeterminism
• Libertarianism
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Paul Henri Thiry, Baron d’Holbach (1723–1789) This French philosopher and translator played a major role
in the Enlightenment as a contributor to the Encylopedie, a compendium of progressive ideas and knowledge. He
published his own radical writings anonymously, and his System of Nature and Common Sense were publicly
condemned and burned. [Paul Henri Thiry (1723–1789) Baron d’Holbach, 1766 [wic on paper] by Carmontelle
(Louis Carrogis) (1717–1806)].
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4.2 Determinism
• Determinist view of personal freedom
• John Stuart Mill
• Baron d'Holbach, The System of Nature
 Analyzing Baron d'Holbach on the
illusion of freedom
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W.T. Stace
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Moritz Schlick (1882–1936) A founder of the Vienna Circle, Schlick—who had a PhD in physics—was
interested in creating a theory of knowledge based on direct observation and logic.
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4.3 Compatibilism
• Compatibilism
 Attempts to find a common ground
between "hard" determinism and
indeterminism
• External constraints may limit freedom.
 W. T. Stace
• Religion and the Modern Mind
• Human actions are entirety determined
by causes, both actions which are "free"
and those which are "unfree."
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4.3 Compatibilism
• External constraints may limit freedom.
 R. E. Hobart
• Wish-will-act
• Free actions
• Unfree actions
• The meaning of "power"
• Free choices
• Unfree choices
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4.3 Compatibilism
• External constraints may limit freedom.
 David Hume
• An Enquiry Concerning Human
Understanding
• Response of hard determinists and
libertarians to the compatibilist definition
of free choices
• Internal constraints may also limit
freedom.
 Schlick
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Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948). A political and spiritual leader, Gandhi helped India achieve independence
through nonviolent civil protest and disobedience. What were the facts in his background that influenced his
decisions? Were these choices free?
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Daniel C. Dennett (b. 1942) The research of this American philosopher centers on the philosophy of mind,
particularly as it relates to evolutionary biology and cognitive science.
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4.3 Compatibilism
• Free will is a human creation.
 Dennett
• Freedom Evolves
• Evaluating compatibilism
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William James (1842–1910) An American thinker whose work blends science, psychology, and philosophy.
James was one of the founders of Pragmatism, a school of philosophy that connects questions of meaning and
truth to practical applications and consequences. Among his writings is The Principles of Psychology (1890), a
1,200-page work that introduced the concept of “stream of thought.”
Science Source
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4.4 Indeterminism and
Libertarianism
• Indeterminism and libertarianism
• William James, The Will to Believe
 We live in a world of possibilities.
•
•
•
•
Self improvement
Morality
Religion
Social improvement
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4.4 Indeterminism and
Libertarianism
• Ways of viewing the universe
 A universe of actualities
 A universe of possibilities
• Psychological, astrological, sociological,
and economic theories
• Analyzing James on free will
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Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) Sartre was a French philosopher and founder of Existentialism, a school of
thought based on the idea that “existence precedes essence.” His Being and Nothingness (1943) offers a full
exploration of this view. Sartre also wrote literary criticism, plays, and novels and was awarded the Nobel Prize
for Literature in 1954 (which he declined).
Science Source
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4.4 Indeterminism and
Libertarianism
• Jean-Paul Sartre, from Existentialism Is
a Humanism
 We create ourselves through our
choices.
• Existentialism
• Analyzing Sartre on freedom, choice,
and responsibility
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4.5 A Feminist Analysis of
Freedom
• Feminist philosophers
 Marilyn Frye
 Sandra Bartky
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How can social images and roles like the “Happy Housewife” restrict people’s freedom? Many feminists
believe that the freedom of women has been constrained by the coercive forces of social conditioning and
psychological manipulation.
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4.6 Neuroscience and Free Will
• Advancements in neuroscience
• Physicalism
 Francis Crick
 Patricia Churchland
• Alva Noë
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Making Connections: Creating a
Synthesis
• Overcoming limitations to your
Freedom
• Confronting external constraints
• Confronting internal constraints
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