The, Frankfurt, And Wolf Are All Compatibilists. They Hold...

Stace, Frankfurt, and Wolf are all compatibilists. They hold that free will and determinism are compatible. In this paper, first I will define and explain key terms determinism, free will, and compatibilism. Next, I will discuss the individual views of each compatibilist and how they object to parts of determinism; then compare and contrast their views. They all believe in parts of determinism and parts of free will, even though determinism holds we are not morally responsible and free will holds we are morally responsible; thus, they are technically incompatible. This concept will be explained in this paper. The first term relevant to this paper is determinism. (Hard) Determinism is the philosophical idea that every action and decision a†¦show more content†¦As a result, Jack gets little sleep and performs poorly on his test. Free will says that Jack is responsible for his decision to go out and, therefore, responsible for doing poorly on his test. The third key term is compatibilism. Compatibilism, also known as soft determinism, is the belief that free will and determinism can coexist. More specifically, while external forces, such as upbringing, and internal forces, such as personal desires, have influence on one’s actions, one still has the ability to make the choice (holding that they are not being physically forced to do something). For example, Jane is invited to a party. Her parents taught her that drinking has many negative repercussions but on the other hand, Jane has been overwhelmed and kind of wants to go out. Jane chooses to not attend the party. According t o compatibilism, while Jane’s decision was influenced by her upbringing and by her personal desire, she still ultimately had the freedom of choice and chose to not go. Now, the first compatibilist I am going to discuss, W.T. Stace, believed that while many of our actions are free, our decisions are not uncaused. Stace holds that we are generally in control of our decisions, unless forced to do something, and are consequently in charge of our chain of actions. To put a term to this, when a person’s actions stem from their desires the act is free and this is called freedom of action. An example to help differentiate between free andShow MoreRelatedCausal Ditermism in the Movie Groundhog Day1964 Words   |  8 PagesWhat does it mean to have free will when one cannot choose the environment in which they live in? Because the environment in which one lives in shapes their beliefs and practices, how is it they are morally responsible for their actions and decisions when they are not in control of the environment they live in? Causal determinism is a belief that everything that happens is completely caused by whatever happened before it. Furthermo re determinism implies if the conditions under which one made a choice