Degrees of freedom.

Human freedom is in tension with nomological determinism and with statistical determinism. The goal of this paper is to answer both challenges. Four contributions are made to the free-will debate. First, we propose a classification of scientific theories based on how much freedom they allow. We take...

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Publicado en:Synthese Vol. 198; no. 11; pp. 10207 - 10236
Autores principales: Thyssen, Pieter, Wenmackers, Sylvia
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Springer Nature Nov2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Degrees of freedom.
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        au:
          Thyssen, Pieter
          Wenmackers, Sylvia
        affil: Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science, Institute of Philosophy, KU Leuven, Kardinaal Mercierplein 2, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
      su:
        Degrees of freedom
        Free will & determinism
        Spacetime
        Libertarianism
        Libertarians
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        subj:
          Degrees of freedom
          Free will & determinism
          Spacetime
          Libertarianism
          Libertarians
      keyword:
        Auxiliary conditions
        Block universe
        Free will
        Indeterminism
        Nomological determinism
        Phase space
        Physical theory
        Principle of alternative possibilities
        Statistical determinism
      ab: Human freedom is in tension with nomological determinism and with statistical determinism. The goal of this paper is to answer both challenges. Four contributions are made to the free-will debate. First, we propose a classification of scientific theories based on how much freedom they allow. We take into account that indeterminism comes in different degrees and that both the laws and the auxiliary conditions can place constraints. A scientific worldview pulls towards one end of this classification, while libertarianism pulls towards the other end of the spectrum. Second, inspired by Hoefer, we argue that an interval of auxiliary conditions corresponds to a region in phase space, and to a bundle of possible block universes. We thus make room for a form of non-nomological indeterminism. Third, we combine crucial elements from the works of Hoefer and List; we attempt to give a libertarian reading of this combination. On our proposal, throughout spacetime, there is a certain amount of freedom (equivalent to setting the initial, intermediate, or final conditions) that can be interpreted as the result of agential choices. Fourth, we focus on the principle of alternative possibilities throughout and propose three ways of strengthening it.
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