Alternate possibilities Pictured:Martin Luther: ‘I can do no other’.DanielDennett: ‘You’re still fre

Alternate possibilities Pictured:Martin Luther: ‘I can do no other’.DanielDennett: ‘You’re still free, bitch!’**Nota direct quote.Somephilosophers do not believe that free will is compatible with determinism. Theysay, if the thesis of determinism is true, all events, including our decisions,are fully determined by past events and we each only ever face one possibility.Free will, then, is just an illusory product of human consciousness and you’renot in control: the Universe is.Other philosophers deny this claim andsupport the intuition that we are free. They say a variety of things.Daniel Dennett argues that alternate possibilities aren’trequired by the concept of free will.That seems wild: I can’t control theoutcome but I’m free?!Agreeing with Harry Frankfurt, Dennett writes: ‘I could not have done otherwise—so what’. Mental statessuch as intentions give us everything we want in moral responsibility. We havecharacter and form our own beliefs, don’t we?Dennett uses many examples. But considerthis one, a famous statement purportedly declared by Martin Luther (b. 1483):‘Here I stand; I can do no other. Godhelp me.’Accusedof heresy by the Catholic Church, Luther claimed it was impossible for him torecant. He called to be judged in the eyes of God, to whom his word was captive(i.e. he felt like he had no choice). Still, Dennett holds him to account.While the causal chains of events that occurred prior to Luther’s declaration weredetermined for him (e.g. in his mental process), we can judge Lutherbecause the result mattered to him.Manyphilosophers disagree, of course. Helen Steward argues that the concept of free willdepends on genuinely open futures (i.e. alternate possibilities); thus Lutherwasn’t free if God indeed compelled him. Robert Kane, meanwhile, identifies Luther as free butonly because he is the ultimate source of reasons he provides for multiple potential outcomes.Whatdo you think? -- source link
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