Compatibilism* emerges as a response to a problem posed by determinism. But what problem is that? Well, suppose, as the thesis of causal determinism tells us, that everything that occurs is the inevitable result of the laws of nature and the state of the world in the distant past. If this is the case, then everything human agents do flows from the laws of nature and the way the world was in the distant past. But if what we do is simply the consequence of the laws of nature and the state of the world in the distant past—then we cannot do anything other than what we ultimately do. Nor are we in any meaningful sense the ultimate causal source of our actions, since they have their causal origins in the laws of nature and the state of the world long ago. Determinism therefore seems to prevent human agents from having the freedom to do otherwise, and it also seems to prevent them from being the sources of their actions. If either of these is true, then it’s doubtful that human agents are free or responsible for their actions in any meaningful sense.

However, compatibilists believe that free will is compatible with determinism. They argue that the view that free will is incompatible with determinism rests upon a confusion of causation with coercion** or control . I am unfree, certainly, if my actions are controlled by another agent: if, for instance, my desires and beliefs are simply irrelevant to what I end up doing. If someone physically manipulates me, or holds a gun to my head, then my actions have their source in someone else, and I am not responsible for them. But the mere fact that determinism is true (if it is true) doesn't show that our actions are coerced or controlled by others. When I go get myself a cheese sandwich, I do so because I want to, and this remains true even if I am determined to want a cheese sandwich. No one forces me to get a cheese sandwich. Not even determinism forces me: to be determined to do something is nothing like being forced to do it. Once again, force is something that is applied to me in spite of what I want, by others or the external world, but determinism, if it is true, works through me and my desires. We rightly object to force, external control and coercion, but we are just confused if we identify determinism with these external powers. Even if determinism is true, rational agents are typically free: free to do what they like.

* compatibilism: 양립론 ** coercion: 강요

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박제된 천재를 아십니까? [953466]

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티벳사자의서! · 990373 · 21/09/14 00:46 · MS 2020

해석해주세요

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티벳사자의서! · 990373 · 21/09/14 00:47 · MS 2020

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박제된 천재를 아십니까? · 953466 · 21/09/14 00:57 · MS 2020

올해 수능 보시는 분이라면 이 정도는 해석할 줄 알아야 하는데...

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Evolved Slave II · 872525 · 21/09/14 00:47 · MS 2019

비문학용 문제: 다음 질문에 OX 답하기

양립론자와 결정론자 모두 자유가 있을 시 책임을 져야 한다는 전제에 동의하겠군! (O,X)

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박제된 천재를 아십니까? · 953466 · 21/09/14 00:55 · MS 2020

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