Libertarian Free Will
Libertarians hold that we have free will and that free will is incompatible with determinism, so some of our actions must be undetermined. This topic examines how an undetermined yet controlled action is possible.
Definition
Libertarian free will is the incompatibilist thesis that agents possess free will and that free actions are not causally determined, requiring a form of control over undetermined choices.
Scope
Covers event-causal, agent-causal, and non-causal libertarian theories, the luck and randomness objection, the role of indeterminism in deliberation, and the metaphysics of agent causation.
Core questions
- How can an undetermined action be free rather than merely random?
- Is free agency best modeled by event causation or agent causation?
- Where must indeterminism be located in the process of action?
- Does libertarian free will require a special kind of agent causation?
Key concepts
- Incompatibilism
- Event-causal libertarianism
- Agent causation
- Self-forming action
- Luck objection
- Origination
Key theories
- Event-causal libertarianism
- Kane locates indeterminism in 'self-forming actions' where competing motivations leave the outcome undetermined; the agent's effort and the resulting choice confer responsibility despite indeterminism.
- Agent-causal libertarianism
- Chisholm and O'Connor hold that free actions are caused by the agent as a substance, not reducible to prior events, so the agent originates action and is not merely a conduit for causes.
History
Libertarian views descend from Reid and earlier defenders of agent causation. Chisholm revived agent causation in 1964. Kane developed a detailed event-causal libertarianism centered on self-forming actions, while O'Connor and others advanced contemporary agent-causal theories in response to the luck objection.
Debates
- The luck or randomness objection
- Critics argue that if a choice is undetermined, then which option occurs is a matter of luck, undermining the agent's control; libertarians respond with accounts of effort, plural rational control, or substance causation.
Key figures
- Roderick Chisholm
- Robert Kane
- Timothy O'Connor
- Carl Ginet
- Robert Nozick
Related topics
Seminal works
- chisholm1964
- kane1996
Frequently asked questions
- Does libertarian free will just make actions random?
- This is the central worry, the luck objection. Libertarians deny it, arguing that undetermined choices can still be the agent's own, either because they issue from the agent's effort and reasons or because they are caused by the agent as a substance rather than by mere chance.