Free Will vs. Determinism

Paper Summary:

This paper weighs the arguments for free will against the arguments for determinism, and decides in favor of free will. The writer explains the religious roots of the debate and how the concepts of free will and determinism involve how the existence and nature of God are understood. A definition of both concepts is provided, and the views of some philosophers on each are given. The writer explains the strengths and weaknesses of both determinism and free will and concludes that though both require that the individual exhibit a desire to learn about that which is not evident, free will and choice guided by reason is the way whereby one can evolve and earn greater responsibility for one's actions.

From the Paper:

"The issue demonstrates an ethical dilemma that verges on either explaining or dismissing moral guidance. The determination of the responsibility one has to act in a certain way as the responsibility of another is freeing on the one hand and very troubling on the other. If one believes that he or she will always do the right thing, even while doing the wrong thing the challenge to morality is essential and core. In other words the essential idea of determinism places the responsibility for human action into the hands of another, which if one believes he or she has free will it is therefore his or her responsibility to reason and have moral control over one's actions."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ekstrom, Laura Waddell. Free Will: A Philosophical Study. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000.
• "Free Will" New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia Online. April 15, 2008, <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06259a.htm>.
• Kapitan, Tomis. "Chapter 6 A Master Argument for Incompatibilism?." The Oxford Handbook of Free Will. Ed. Robert Kane. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. 127-154.
• Kane, Robert, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Free Will. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

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