Day 16: Determinism and Freewill

•      Review

•      Background

•      On necessity and liberty

•      Objections and Replies

•      Please read Treatise, Bk II, Part III, sections III

Background

•      Why care about freedom?

•      What is determinism?

•      How are freedom and determinism related?

–   Libertarianism (a kind of incompatiblism)

–   Soft Determinism (a kind of compatiblism)

–   Hard Determinism (a kind of incompatiblism)

On Necessity and Liberty

•      For Hume, what is necessity?

•      According to Hume, is the will governed by necessity?  Why or why not?  What evidence does he give for his view?

•      For Hume, what is liberty?

–   Liberty in the Treatise

–   Liberty in the Enquiry

Objections and Replies

•      Why do people persist in believing that the will is not governed by necessity?

–   Liberty of spontaneity

–   Liberty of indifference

–   Morality, Law, and Religion

•      In each case, what is Hume’s reply?