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Free Will, Determinism, and Responsibility

There are many events in a person's life that have an impact so large, that the person' life is forever changed. Hopefully most such events are positive, and help him in his life. However, there is also the undeniable fact that bad things happen. It is not uncommon to hear someone wondering aloud why an event took place. A person's actions come into question, and it is wondered what the person's motivation was. Once we start questioning the events of our lives, we begin to test out different theories that we have heard over time. "It was fate," or "It is part of God's plan," or other theories which attempt to put some meaning and reasoning behind events in our lives. Human's also begin to wonder how it is that their actions are determined. Aside from these various explanations, philosopher's have created explanations which can tell the story of human action. There are four main positions that one can maintain. Hard determinism, compatibilism, indeterminism, and scep!

ticism. Each of the stances holds a different explanation for human action which can be argued and debated. I believe that the idea of compatibilism is the best answer to this problem. Combining determinism wit

The next argument which Ayer states, is that freedom is not a denial of causality, but of constraint. There are two instances of constraint which take away our freedom, and our responsibility. The first is when we are compelled by another person to do something. An example that Ayer entertains is this: if someone is holding a gun to your head, and orders you to do something or you will die. Ayer states that you do have a choice in this situation. You can do what the gunman tells you, or you can make your own choice to risk getting shot. He claims that a person can only be said to not be morally responsible if there is no reasonable choice to be made. The second instance of constraint is when there is a disorder which controls what we do. A kleptomaniac is an example of someone not making a decision, but having a habit which they are constrained by. All of this leads Ayer to the conclusion that all cases of constraint are cases of causation, but not all cases of causa!

h responsibility makes for the best argument and explanation for human action.

The first step in Ayer's argument is that we make choices which determine our character. Those choices are either an accident or they are not. If the choices are an accident, then we are not responsible for our actions. We may act out of our own free will, but we do t

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Approximate Word count = 899
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Religion

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