Free Will and Values: Adaptive Mechanisms and Strategies of Prey and PredatorsThis book shows how two topics of longstanding philosophical interest--free will and value relativism--are connected in unsuspected ways. The ancient doctrine that all values are relative provides clues needed to resolve some important philosophical problems about free will. One of these problems concerns theories that deny the compatibility of free will and determinism; it is often said that such "incompatibilist" theories involve obscure conceptions of agency and are essentially mysterious. The book answers this charge by developing--in greater detail than has ever been attempted before--an incompatibilist theory of freedom consistent with current scientific evidence, avoiding all appeals to obscure or mysterious forms of agency. This theory exploits neglected clues in the history of philosophy about free will and action, objectivity and relativism in ethics, and about the foundations of liberalism in political theory. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Free Will Issue | 7 |
Will | 15 |
Indeterminism and Power | 28 |
Special Cause Strategies | 52 |
Relativistic Alternatives | 79 |
Reason Sets and Practical Reason | 100 |
Relativism Empiricism | 117 |
Moral and Prudential Choice | 142 |
Factual Issues | 165 |
Values Relativity Ethics | 189 |
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Common terms and phrases
act from duty agent's rational alternatives Andon answer argue argument Baltar behavior believe bootstrap theories Bramhall Bramhall's causal character and motives choice or decision choices or actions choose CNC control Compatibilism compatibilist conflict content theory defined deliberation determined discussion dual rational empiricism equal respect Everyman explain free choices free will issue Hobbes human ideal indeterminism indeterminist condition involved kind laws of nature Leibniz libertarian freedom libertarian theories libertarian view means moral and prudential moral choice moral point motives of duty neurons non-constraining control non-occurrent cause one's options otherwise outcome past circumstances physical point of view possible practical choice practical reasoning predestinationist preferring presupposed probability space prudential choice R-alternatives R-choice rational self control reasons or motives relativistic relevant responsibility sense sole or ultimate strategies theme theories of relativity tion treated ultimate dominion value empiricist value experiments value pluralism value relativism value systems value theory