Exam 7: Freedom

If indeterminism is true,and there are uncaused actions,then those actions

What is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle?

What is the difference between negative freedom and positive freedom?

After Eric talks to a psychiatrist,he understands that his panic attacks are the result of an imbalance of neurochemicals in his brain.According to Kant,when Eric does this he is assuming a practical stance on himself.

Aristotle argued that an act could be free only if it was both free from "external compulsion" and

It's clear that the concepts of moral responsibility and freedom are linked.Consider the following four cases: A)Dave was having an affair with Todd's wife Ethel and wanted her husband out of the way.After weeks of planning and stalking Todd,Dave shot and killed him as Todd left the gym. B)One night in a bar,Dave had way too much to drink.He got into a vicious argument with Todd,who was also drunk and verbally abusive.In a state of alcoholic rage,Dave went to his car,got a gun,and came back to shoot Todd. C)Dave,a combat veteran,was suffering severe conditions of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).Waking up from a blackout,he hallucinated that he was on the battlefield and that Todd was the enemy.Thinking he was acting in self-defense,he shot and killed Todd. D)Dave is kidnapped by terrorists and told that unless he cooperates with them in attacking and possibly killing innocent civilians,his family will be killed. Now write an essay in which you imagine you are on a jury charged with assessing Dave's guilt or innocence in each case,where guilt implies being morally and legally responsible.Applying Aristotle's two criteria for free actions,how would you assess Dave's guilt or innocence in each case,and why? If more information is needed,what is that information and would its provision help you decide the case? Can you think of any other cases that serve as interesting test applications of Aristotle's framework? What general conclusions can you draw about the relationship between freedom and moral responsibility?

What does Jean-Paul Sartre mean when he says we are "condemned to be free?"

Assume that determinism is true about your body's movements.Assume also that your consciousness,unlike your body,is not part of the scheme of determinism,and so is free to make decisions,free to choose what to do.If these assumptions are true,then it follows that

Write an argumentative essay defending or criticizing determinism.Your essay should address the argument for determinism,and why (or why not)it is defensible. If you defend determinism,you'll need also to address indeterminist and soft determinist counterarguments. Conversely,if you defend either indeterminism or soft determinism,you'll need to consider how a determinist is likely to respond. You can use materials from chapter seven,but are not limited to these.

Indeterminism implies that while all events have causes,choices and actions are not really events in the world.

In focusing exclusively on negative freedom,we can easily

What is indeterminism?

For philosophers who define determinism as implying only predictability on the basis of probability,to say that every event is determined means only that

Rational freedom implies

One reason the determinist's claim that every event has a sufficient explanation seems hard to disagree with is that

If having a choice means to be able to do either A or B,then determinism seems to imply

What does Kant mean when he says freedom is a postulate of practical reason?

Write a fictional,argumentative dialogue between two or more characters debating the meaning of freedom and the problem of freedom and determinism. Your characters should each take stands and defend them with clearly stated reasons. They can respectfully disagree with one another,and should try to address each other's criticisms. Be especially aware of the assumptions that each character makes when s/he takes a stand. Your dialogue can conclude with agreement,agreeing to disagree,or some sort of new synthesis of preliminary positions. Dialogues should include discussion of the meaning and importance or value of freedom,and on some aspects of the debate over freedom and determinism. They should bring out your perceptions of what's at stake in this issue.You can draw on materials from chapter seven,but you are not limited to these.

What is freedom? Why is it important? Is it an absolute or conditional value? In what sense is freedom necessary (or not necessary)for a good life? Your essay should clarify the meaning of freedom,distinguishing among the following kinds of freedom (intrinsic,extrinsic,positive,negative,rational,emotional,capricious)while clarifying what circumstances these forms of freedom are desirable or undesirable.

An indeterminist view of free actions is similar to the concept of capricious freedom.