In this thesis I claim that libertarianism is a view that should once again be considered as a plausible possibility within the free will debate. Earlier versions of libertarianism needed...Show moreIn this thesis I claim that libertarianism is a view that should once again be considered as a plausible possibility within the free will debate. Earlier versions of libertarianism needed unscientific notions such as noumenal selves or non-occurrent causes and were therefore discarded due to our current knowledge of science. However, philosopher Robert Kane has developed an account of libertarianism that appears to make a libertarian notion of free will compatible with science. My first objective is to clarify this account of libertarianism. Many objections have been raised against Kane, but only a few philosophers have tried to constructively reject his account of libertarianism. In this thesis I explain two strong objections that have been raised against libertarianism by famous philosopher and compatibilist Daniel Dennett. However, I claim that these objections are not sufficient to reject libertarianism as a whole and I conclude that therefore more work has to be done to abandon libertarianism altogether.Show less
In daily life, we speak of ‘waiting for inspiration’, for instance when starting with a new work of art. However, it is not clear what this means. Is it possible to lie on a couch and literally...Show moreIn daily life, we speak of ‘waiting for inspiration’, for instance when starting with a new work of art. However, it is not clear what this means. Is it possible to lie on a couch and literally wait for inspiration to come? And if inspiration is indeed such a passive process, what does this tell us about our own responsibility? This thesis therefore focuses on inspiration and its relation to control and (moral) responsibility. Firstly, I will discuss the phenomenon ‘inspiration’ by means of the multi-disciplinary literature search that I conducted. Secondly, I will place the subject of inspiration in the debate on control and (moral) responsibility. I will conclude that popular notions (such as ‘alternative possibilities’ or ‘reason-responsiveness’) are difficult to apply to inspiration. Inspiration seems to be a ‘curious case’; the relation to control and responsibility is not easily defined.Show less
