Search engine for discovering works of Art, research articles, and books related to Art and Culture
ShareThis
Javascript must be enabled to continue!

Free will and believing in determinism [English original]

View through CrossRef
The article addresses the issue of free will and determinism through a discussion of Newcomb’s paradox, presented as a dialogue between the spirits of Lady Luck and Fate. I argue that commitment to determinism, which is suggested by materialist metaphysics, is in contradiction with our experience of freedom of choice. Newcomb’s paradox describes the dilemma of choosing between either one or two boxes in order to maximise the quantity of money these boxes contain, which has been determined by the machine predicting what your decision will be. The character of Heather, faced with this dilemma, symbolizes humanity grappling with the issue of free will in the face of determinism. I claim that our experience of freedom prevents us from believing that determinism is true when we properly reflect on the issue, just as Heather could not believe in determinism when she had to make the choice in the situation described in the paradox.
Title: Free will and believing in determinism [English original]
Description:
The article addresses the issue of free will and determinism through a discussion of Newcomb’s paradox, presented as a dialogue between the spirits of Lady Luck and Fate.
I argue that commitment to determinism, which is suggested by materialist metaphysics, is in contradiction with our experience of freedom of choice.
Newcomb’s paradox describes the dilemma of choosing between either one or two boxes in order to maximise the quantity of money these boxes contain, which has been determined by the machine predicting what your decision will be.
The character of Heather, faced with this dilemma, symbolizes humanity grappling with the issue of free will in the face of determinism.
I claim that our experience of freedom prevents us from believing that determinism is true when we properly reflect on the issue, just as Heather could not believe in determinism when she had to make the choice in the situation described in the paradox.

Related Results

Aviation English - A global perspective: analysis, teaching, assessment
Aviation English - A global perspective: analysis, teaching, assessment
This e-book brings together 13 chapters written by aviation English researchers and practitioners settled in six different countries, representing institutions and universities fro...
Determinism and indeterminism
Determinism and indeterminism
Over the centuries, the doctrine of determinism has been understood, and assessed, in different ways. Since the seventeenth century, it has been commonly understood as the doctrine...
Freedom and Determinism
Freedom and Determinism
'Freedom and Determinism' is a conflicting postulate with reference to the nature of human conduct. Is man free or is everything determined? Freedom is a matter of choice based on ...
Indo-Anglian: Connotations and Denotations
Indo-Anglian: Connotations and Denotations
A different name than English literature, ‘Anglo-Indian Literature’, was given to the body of literature in English that emerged on account of the British interaction with India un...
Economic Determinism
Economic Determinism
The concept of economic determinism refers to monocausal determinism by material, economic factors. The idea is often associated with Karl Marx's “historical materialism,” but it i...
Determinism and indeterminism
Determinism and indeterminism
Over the centuries, the doctrine of determinism has been understood, and assessed, in different ways. Since the seventeenth century, it has been commonly understood as the doctrine...
How the Self-Defeating Argument Against Determinism Defeats Itself
How the Self-Defeating Argument Against Determinism Defeats Itself
There is a well-known argument which is an attempt to show that all arguments in favour of determinism are self-defeating. Proponents of the Determinism-Is-Self-Defeating Argument ...

Back to Top