Exam 7: Freedom

"The only liberty which can be a real thing [is] the liberty of the State and of the individual within the State" was stated by

If we assume the self is a social entity that depends on others for its existence,then what will count as freedom will necessarily involve our relationships with others.

Aristotle rejected soft determinism although he embraced the idea of free action.

Even if indeterminists are right in claiming that it is impossible to predict what a subatomic particle in our bodies might do,this does not imply that it is impossible to predict what our bodies will do.

What is the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic freedom?

According to Frithjof Bergmann our culture

David Hume,who was a soft determinist,believed that we could say that an act was free

Freedom is always a good thing for those who have it.

According to Kant,when we act we have to think of ourselves as acting freely.

Write an essay on the problem of free will and determinism. Your essay should clarify what the problem is,and discuss various solutions to the problem: determinism (including the argument for determinism); indeterminism,compatibilism and soft determinism (both forms); and both Kant and Sartre's views on freedom. Focus on the strength and weaknesses of each approach regarding how well they each address moral responsibility. Do you favor one approach over others,and why?

Suppose for a minute that correct freedom is positive freedom. Write an essay discussing the ingredients in,and conditions for,positive freedom. You'll want to distinguish positive freedom from negative freedom,and to address the following questions: What are the factors that limit and "open up" positive free choice? Are there particular kinds of ends that must be pursued and that when absent limit your freedom? What conditions have to be in place,in your life,for you to be positively free? Are there some ways of choosing goals (and means toward goals)that are more or less sustainable and livable? Give examples illustrating both choices that are more positively free and choices that are less positively free.

The notion that there is a cause for every event is inconsistent seems to imply the belief that a truly free action is one that is wholly undetermined by anything but the pure self.

David Hume accepted the basic rule of determinism,the principle of universal causation,but argued that our belief in it was a matter of custom.

When Rousseau argued that people should be forced to be free (by being made to "obey the general will" of the people),he was endorsing

Capricious freedom is the opposite of rational freedom.

If a man holds a gun to my head and forces me to give him my wallet,then

Jean-Paul Sartre and the psychiatrist Erich Fromm both argue that

Jean-Paul Sartre rejects Kant's notion that we must view our actions as free.

Someone who believes in soft determinism also believes that human beings are not responsible for their actions.

A good example of rational freedom is the freedom to express your emotions.