Free will, a core issue in debates about moral responsibility, explores whether our choices are truly "up to us" or determined by external factors. This topic examines different perspectives, including libertarian and compatibilist views, and the challenges posed by hard determinism.

The discussion extends to theological perspectives, neuroscience of decision-making, and implications for moral responsibility. It also delves into the problem of evil, quantum indeterminacy, and strategies for cultivating free will, offering a comprehensive exploration of this complex philosophical concept.

Defining free will

• Free will is the ability to make choices without external coercion or constraint, a core issue in debates about moral responsibility and the nature of human agency
• Examines whether our choices are ultimately "up to us" in a way that grounds desert, or whether they are determined by factors beyond our control

Libertarian vs compatibilist views

• Libertarians hold that free will requires the ability to have chosen otherwise under identical conditions, viewing determinism as incompatible with freedom
• Compatibilists argue free choices are those made in accordance with one's own motives and character, without requiring alternative possibilities
• Example: A libertarian would say a choice made under threat of force is unfree, while a compatibilist may still consider it free if it aligns with the agent's values

Hard determinism vs free will

• Hard determinists reject free will, viewing all events (including human choices) as inevitable products of prior causes in accord with natural laws
• Challenges the idea that we are the "ultimate source" of our choices in a way that could make us morally responsible
• Example: A hard determinist would see a person's choice as a product of their genetics, upbringing, circumstances, etc. rather than an uncaused decision

Theological perspectives on free will

• Many religious traditions grapple with reconciling divine power and foreknowledge with human free choice, as it relates to questions of sin, grace, and predestination
• Explores implications of God's attributes (omniscience, omnipotence) for the possibility of free will and moral responsibility

Divine foreknowledge and human freedom

• If God has infallible knowledge of future human choices, some argue this is incompatible with those choices being free (as the outcome is already fixed)
• Responses include appeals to atemporal eternity (God is "outside time"), or the compatibility of foreknowledge with choices that are still self-determined
• Example: Boethius argues God's knowledge is like an observer on a tall tower seeing all points of a road, without causing the travelers' choices

Predestination vs free choice

• Doctrines of divine predestination (associated especially with Calvinism) hold that God has eternally determined who will be saved or damned
• Creates tensions with the idea of humans being morally responsible for sin and meriting punishment/reward
• Example: If God has predestined the saved and damned, how can sinners be blameworthy for rejecting salvation?

Neuroscience of decision making

• Scientific study of the neural mechanisms underlying voluntary choice, planning, and self-control, and their limitations
• Raises questions about the role of conscious will vs. unconscious processes, and the degree to which "rational" cognition drives behavior

Role of unconscious processes

• Much of the brain's information processing and behavior initiation occurs below the level of conscious awareness
• Research shows many choices are influenced by subliminal priming, implicit biases, and somatic markers (emotional tags)
• Example: Subjects' choices between consumer products are swayed by subtle exposure to smiling/frowning faces they don't consciously perceive

Illusion of conscious control

• Introspection creates the feeling of consciously willing our choices, but experiments cast doubt on the causal role of conscious volition
• Suggests many behaviors are initiated unconsciously, with awareness of the intention arising afterward (confabulation)
• Example: Libet found neural readiness potentials precede the subjective decision to move by several hundred milliseconds

Implications for moral responsibility

• Questions about free will have major impacts on attributions of moral responsibility, including desert (what one merits), praise/blame, and punishment
• Hard determinists argue universal causal determinism undermines moral responsibility, while compatibilists preserve responsibility under determinism

Praise, blame, and desert

• Praising/blaming involves the judgment that one merits (deserves) credit or discredit for their choice, beyond just assessing consequences
• Desert is often seen as requiring the ability to have done otherwise - ought implies can
• Example: We distinguish outcomes due to malice vs. honest mistake, chance, or coercion in assigning blame

Punishment and rehabilitation

• Theories of punishment (retributivism, deterrence, rehabilitation, incapacitation) presuppose varying degrees of free choice and moral responsibility
• Retributive punishment (giving offenders their "just deserts") is often seen as requiring free will and ultimate origination, vs. a "medical model" of rehabilitation
• Example: A retributivist would support punishment even with no deterrent effect, while a hard determinist may favor rehabilitation/treatment

Free will and the problem of evil

• The existence of evil and suffering in a world created by a good, omnipotent God is a central problem for theistic religions
• Free will is invoked in many theodicies (justifications for God's allowing evil) as a great good that explains the existence of moral evil

Theodicy and human freedom

• Free will theodicies argue the capacity for freely chosen love requires the possibility of choosing evil, and that a world with free creatures is better than one without
• Hold that God is not responsible for human evils, which are a consequence of human agency, and that eliminating freedom would be worse
• Example: Plantinga argues even an omnipotent God cannot create free beings and unilaterally cause them to only choose good

Natural evil vs moral evil

• Challenges to free will theodicies often invoke natural evils (undeserved suffering from natural disasters, diseases, etc.) which don't originate from human choice
• Possible replies include appeals to natural laws, character development, or skeptical theism (limitations on human knowledge) to explain natural evils
• Example: Some theodicies argue natural evils are necessary for the development of virtues like compassion and courage

Quantum indeterminacy and free will

• Quantum mechanics describes the probabilistic behavior of subatomic particles, with some interpretations invoking fundamental indeterminacy/randomness
• Raises the possibility that quantum indeterminacy in the brain could provide a foothold for libertarian free will

Randomness vs rational agency

• Simply introducing randomness into the deterministic chain of causes appears insufficient for rational free choice, which requires reasoned deliberation
• Libertarians appeal to "agent causation" or non-deterministic causation by the self to reconcile quantum indeterminacy with reasoned agency
• Example: A choice that is simply a matter of quantum chance seems no more rational or "up to me" than deterministic inevitability

Interpretations of quantum mechanics

• Different interpretations of quantum mechanics vary in their implications for free will and ontological determinism
• The Copenhagen interpretation is indeterministic, while the many-worlds and hidden variables interpretations are deterministic
• Example: Penrose and Hameroff suggest quantum coherence in microtubules could provide a mechanism for libertarian free will

Cultivating free will

• Beyond theoretical debates, some emphasize the practical value of belief in free will for motivation, pro-social behavior, and personal growth
• Suggest strategies for increasing self-awareness and self-regulation to maximize one's degree of freedom and responsibility

Mindfulness and self-awareness

• Practicing mindfulness (non-judgmental attention to present experience) can increase awareness of the influences on one's choices and the space between impulse and action
• Supports more reflective (vs. reflexive) choices in line with one's deeper values and goals
• Example: Mindfulness-based interventions for addiction train awareness of craving, creating a "choice point" to respond differently

Strategies for overcoming compulsion

• Techniques from cognitive-behavioral therapy can help individuals counter unwanted impulses and make choices aligned with their considered preferences
• Include stimulus control, adaptive self-talk, distress tolerance, and contingency management to shape behavior
• Example: Smokers can break patterns of compulsive use by avoiding triggers, talking through urges, and rewarding themselves for abstaining

Free will in world religions

• Questions of agency, fate, and moral responsibility feature prominently in world religions and wisdom traditions
• Show diversity of perspectives on the existence and scope of human freedom in relation to spiritual/cosmological realities

Karma and liberation in Eastern thought

• In Hinduism and Buddhism, karma (ethical causality across rebirths) is often seen as a deterministic system that binds unenlightened beings to suffering
• Liberation (moksha, nirvana) is freedom from karmic rebirth attained through spiritual insight, often after many lifetimes of cultivating virtue
• Example: The Buddha attained enlightenment and freedom from rebirth after gaining direct insight into the illusory nature of the self

Sin and grace in Western monotheism

• Judaism, Christianity and Islam affirm both human choice and divine sovereignty, with different views on their interplay
• In Christianity, Augustine and others emphasize the necessity of divine grace to redeem the human will from bondage to sin
• Example: Pelagius argued humans can freely choose righteousness, while Augustine saw the human will as corrupted by original sin and unable to choose good apart from grace

Experimental evidence on free will

• Empirical study of decision-making and the factors influencing human choices, including external situational pressures and internal unconscious processes
• Experiments in neuroscience and social psychology challenge some common intuitions about the role of conscious will and individual character traits in guiding behavior

Libet experiments on volition

• Benjamin Libet measured the timing of neural events and the subjective sense of deciding to act, finding the brain initiated actions prior to conscious awareness
• While controversial, the findings complicate traditional views of conscious will and the role of the self in initiating free choices
• Example: In Libet's studies, participants reported the urge to move 200ms before action, but readiness potentials appeared up to 500ms prior

Situationist critiques of character

• Situationism in psychology emphasizes the power of external situations (vs. internal character traits) to shape individual behavior
• Experiments like Milgram's obedience studies and Zimbardo's prison experiment show surprising conformity and influence of social roles
• Example: In the Milgram experiments, 65% of participants delivered severe shocks on the experimenter's orders, showing the power of the situation over individual conscience

Free will and meaning in life

• Conceptions of free will are closely tied to views of meaning, value, and purpose in human life
• Existentialist and humanist perspectives emphasize the role of individual freedom and responsibility in creating meaning, while hard determinists see the quest for meaning as itself determined

Existentialist views on authenticity

• Existentialists (e.g. Sartre) see humans as fundamentally free to create their own essence through their choices, with authenticity requiring owning this freedom
• Radical freedom brings the anxiety of responsibility but allows for self-creation, in contrast to living in "bad faith" by denying one's freedom
• Example: Sartre gives the example of a waiter playing at "being a waiter" as an inauthentic flight from freedom into a fixed role

Nihilism vs life-affirmation

• Hard determinists and some existentialists grapple with the threat of nihilism (rejection of meaning and value) in a world without libertarian free will or objective purpose
• Others find determinism compatible with creating subjective meaning through engagement with personal projects and relationships
• Example: Camus sees human freedom as revolting against the "absurdity" of the human condition through active choice in the face of a deterministic, meaningless universe