Philosophy Free Will Essay - 1687 Words

Goodridge  ­ 1 Henry Goodridge 11/10/2014 Phil 1 ­A Professor Teuber Some may think that a belief in determinism eliminates the possibility of free will, and even destroys the credibility of being held accountable for one’s actions. Within the context of the pizza and yogurt problem, this means that not only was eating pizza unavoidable, but that the repercussions of the event should not be placed on the shoulders of the diner. On the flip side, a libertarianist might argue that a vast pool of options exists whenever a problem is encountered, therefore meaning that any consequences of a chosen action are the fault of the decision maker. Going back to the pizza and yogurt example, the libertarianist could argue that the choice to†¦show more content†¦Not only this, but the thought processes that lead me to that decision, every argument for and against eating pizza that went through my mind would enter my head in an identical way once again. If I then accidentally knocked a glass of water off the table where I sat down with my pizza, then I would make the same mistake again when going through the same scenario. As long as nothing has changed, the exact same set of events would happen each time. This is because when faced with the decision to eat the pizza or the yogurt, my experiences, my natural inclinations, my environment, and practically everything else that lead me to the moment where I am about to pick my food causes me to end up eating pizza. My brain has been hardwired by the world around me to select one specific option in each and every decision that I have to make, and the psychological factors that go into that decision didnt just spring out of nowhere. Now this raises two issues which seemingly put determinism at the opposite end of the spectrum from free will. The first conflicts with free will and libertarianism on the large scale by seeming to prohibit it’s very existence. How can it be possible to make a free decision if one’s ultimate choice was essentially the only option in the first place? At first this may appear to prohibit a compatible answerShow MoreRelatedThe Life of Jean-Paul Sartre847 Words   |  4 Pagesphilosophical theory that focuses on the individual person being a free and responsible person who determines his or her own development through acts of will. Existentialism is a thesis that has been discussed by some of the greatest philosophical minds ever to live. Minds such as Kierkegaard and Nietzsche all had their own view on what existentialism was and major impact on the development of this thesis. 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