Final Report

Freedom & Free Will

            Last time, I talked about Richard Norman’s “On Humanism”; specifically, I focused on his discussions on freedom, free will and human consciousness. I have elected to expand upon that topic for this final report. Here, I will tie in the ideas and concepts of others to shed further light. I will also lay out my own personal beliefs regarding the matter.

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In this video, the host discusses “event causation” and “agent causation” as principles of libertarian free will. The former: “No physical event can occur without having been caused by a previous physical event.” The latter: “An agent – a being propelled by a mind – can start a whole chain of causality that wasn’t caused by anything else.” What this means is that, for example, if a person trips and falls, it was caused by the physical act of walking or running or simply standing. However, if a person does something, it is because they chose to do it. A hard determinist might argue that our choices are determined by our biological brain states, or mental states. That is to say that a choice we make is determined by, for example, a desire or belief or what-have-you; to that I would suggest that it is by our own choice that we desire or believe what we do. Thus, it is, from my perspective, that our mental states might influence our choices but was it not our choices that influenced those mental states? If, as 16^th century philosopher Baron d’Holbach claims, we are just “cogs in a machine”, why then is this machine so damn faulty? Why is it that humanity is the species that has evolved and changed so much? I would suggest that is because of the development of our consciousness, of our ability to express and exercise our freedom from the whims of the natural order.

In “On Humanism”, Norman states,

“We like to think that we can make our own free choices about what to do, and that though we cannot entirely control what happens to us, we can at any rate normally control our own actions and to that extent be the authors of our own lives.” (p. 59)

I think this statement sums up free will perfectly: we can’t control everything that happens to us, nor determine how we enter this world, but we can control our own actions and make our own choices, supposing that one is of sound mind (i.e., not mentally disadvantaged to the point of no control over oneself) to make those choices and perform those actions. We are at the mercy of our brains, sure; we cannot determine everything that happens in our heads. But our brains are at the mercy of our consciousness. By consciousness I mean that thing which makes us distinctively human: “In its more limited sense it just means ‘awareness’.” (Norman, p. 58) Our brains may drive us, but our consciousness is what allows us to determine what choices we make and then reflect on those choices.

To be perfectly honest, I, personally, do not require any proof or persuasion that humans possess free will. From my point of view, free will is simply that: the ability to freely will yourself to do things, to make choices, to think about those things and those choices, and so on. It is not about morals or morality; it is about choice. We, as humans, possess the freedom to choose and do as we please despite the consequences that those actions and choices may present. Caruso and Flanagan’s “Neuroexistentialism”, suggests that free will “refers to the control in action required for a core sense of moral responsibility.” (Caruso & Flanagan, pp. 235-236). I suppose that morality is only relevant to free will in the sense that one’s morals may conflict with their own choices or those of others; that does not (in my mind) mean that the two are interdependent on one another. Further, I believe that Norman’s perspective accommodates for the obvious uncontrollable aspects such as how we were raised and the beliefs and values instilled in us because, despite these things, we still have the ability to choose whether or not to live by those things.

Perhaps the choices we make are influenced by our mental state; but, so what? The fact is that you are making the choice.

Post-Spring Break Tally

4-5-2020: Disc post “Response to an Atheist Funeral” /base

4-5-2020: Posted midterm report /20 runs

4-6-2020: Response, “The Sound of Silence” /base

4-8-2020: Response, “Was Plato a Communist?” /base

4-9-2020: Response, “Giving the Devil His Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist” /base

4-9-2020: Response, “Last call for comments on ‘This Life’” /base

4-9-2020: Response, “What’s the point? To move forward…” /base

4-10-2020: Response, “Congressional Freethought Caucus” /base

4-16-2020: Response, “Visitor from a Distant Place” /base

4-17-2020: Response, “Quizzes April 21, 23” /base

5-4-2020: Posted final report /20 runs

Current total post-break: 22 runs

Including final report: 42 runs