What does it mean to be ‘free’? The simple and immediate answer that comes for many people is probably, ‘I am free if I am able to choose what I do.’ Whilst this may be true, it fails to address...Show moreWhat does it mean to be ‘free’? The simple and immediate answer that comes for many people is probably, ‘I am free if I am able to choose what I do.’ Whilst this may be true, it fails to address key issues in the discussion of freedom, such as how or if freedom can be attainable if others are hindering your will. This paper will seek to examine what is meant by ‘freedom’ beginning with an overview of free will and how this relates to freedom itself. The works of Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) will be used to examine freedom alongside some of his critics such as Rousseau and Kant. Further to this the ethical question of freedom of speech will be remarked upon with relation to Jordan Peterson, a professor of psychology. Finally Berlin’s ideas about freedom will be applied to Peterson’s arguments for the protection of free speech as well as those who argue against Peterson in the public forums of a televised debate and a televised discussion panel, in which Peterson was a participant. This research combines the disciplines of philosophy, culture and socio-politics to attempt to reach a well formulated and in depth conclusion answering the question, “How does the philosophical concept of ‘liberty’, as understood by Isaiah Berlin, relate to the ethical and socio- political freedom of speech debate, specifically pertaining to discussion of freedom of speech versus usage of gender pronouns in the discussion of gender identity and identity ethics?”Show less
This paper addresses the question whether it is possible to make an argument in defense of the existence of free will on the basis of the indeterminism of the theory of quantum mechanics. To do so,...Show moreThis paper addresses the question whether it is possible to make an argument in defense of the existence of free will on the basis of the indeterminism of the theory of quantum mechanics. To do so, first the most basic approach is examined, attempting to formulate an argument for the possibility of free will on the basis of quantum mechanics and biology. After demonstrating the problems with this and showing that there is some unclarity regarding the relationship between determinism and free will, the paper turns to analyzing the concepts of determinism and free will and proposes that free will could best be understood as self-determination. This allows for the possibility of free will to be argued on the basis of Humean Supervenience. It is then argued that by way of the Copenhagen Interpretation, which is likened to phenomenology, quantum mechanics can make a case for this which is similar to the Best Systems Approach. After constructing an analysis of what the universe is on the basis of this way of thinking, and using the relation between a video game and a player as an analogy to explain how this affects the relationship between determinism and free will, the paper argues that free will can be completely compatible with being fully determined by the universe, but not with being determined by the rest of the universe. Finally, the paper proposes self-consciousness as an additional requirement for free will if it is to be understood as self-determination and thus concludes that free will is possible on the basis of quantum-mechanical thinking, but not quantum indeterminacy itself.Show less
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
