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David Hume's Compatibilist Position On Free Will

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Introduction:

The debate over free will has been one of the most enduring and contentious issues in philosophy. At the heart of this debate lies the tension between determinism, the view that all events, including human actions, are causally decided by prior events and conditions, and free will, the belief that individuals can make choices and act freely. While some philosophers argue that determinism and free will are incompatible, others, such as David Hume, have tried to reconcile these seemingly contradictory positions through a compatible view of free will. In this paper, I will argue in favor of Hume's compatibilist position on free will by exploring its key features and addressing some of the challenges it faces.

Hume's …show more content…

According to Hume, while all events are causally decided by prior events and conditions, this does not prevent the possibility of free will. In Hume's view, free will is not the absence of causal determination, but rather the absence of external constraints on human action. That is, individuals have free will when they can act by their own desires, motivations, and beliefs, without being coerced or constrained by external forces.

One of the key features of Hume's compatibilist position is its emphasis on internal factors in human action. Hume believed that our desires, motivations, and beliefs play a crucial role in shaping our actions, and that these internal factors are not incompatible with determinism. In fact, Hume argued that it is precisely because our actions are causally decided by prior events and conditions that our desires, motivations, and beliefs shape our actions. For Hume, the idea of free will is not undermined by determinism, but rather relies on …show more content…

Three of the most prominent challenges are related to the problem of manipulation and coercion, the role of chance, and the difficulty of defining free will.

The problem of manipulation and coercion poses a significant challenge to Hume's view of free will. If individuals are manipulated or coerced into performing an action, their internal psychological states may not reflect their true desires, motivations, or beliefs. In such cases, it seems unfair to hold the individual morally responsible for their actions. This challenge highlights the role that external factors can play in deciding human action, even in the absence of external constraints.

The role of chance also poses a challenge to Hume's compatibilist position. It is possible that certain events or conditions that are outside of our control, such as natural disasters or genetic predispositions, can significantly influence our actions. This raises the question of whether we can truly be said to have free will if chance plays such a significant role in deciding our

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