Lecture 15 Notes

Introduction to Compatibilism

1. Competing Accounts of Freedom
1. Metaphysical Freedom (Hard Determinist's View): Freedom At Least Requires the Ability To Do Otherwise
2. Moral Freedom (Compatibilist's View): Freedom Only Requires the Ability To Do What You Want
2. Key Point: Debate Between HD and Compatibilism is NOT Over Whether or Not We are Determined (Both Theories are Deterministic).  It is Over the Correct Analysis of Freedom!

Arguments for Compatibilism

1. How can we act differently from what we want?
2. The ability to do otherwise would never be utilized.
1. The hard determinist's analysis of freedom suggests it would be irrelevant to our lives.  If we had the ability to do what we want, we would never use the ability to do otherwise.
2. The Twin-Earth Scenario--Suppose that there are two earths.  On one earth, we have the ability to do what we want.  On the other earth, we have the ability to do otherwise.  There will be no difference in the course of events between the two earths because we will always do what we want to do even if we could have done something else.
3. Hume: Freedom Requires Determinism.  The alternative appears to be loss of control.