Libertarianism

between determinists and libertarians, with the division being caused by the possibility of free will. Steven Cahn offers an explanation of the different views of free will with the three opinions being hard determinism, soft determinism, and libertarianism. In this writing, I am going to explain Cahn’s viewpoint, and his idea that freedom is not compatible with determinism. The setting for this argument begins with a criminal trial from the early twentieth century. Two boys plead guilty to…

A dilemma is considered a situation in which you have to make a difficult choice. Vaughn states that free will is when "at least some of our choices and actions are not decided for us or forced upon us but are genuinely up to us." (Vaughn, pg.333) Free will is such a dilemma because for humans, it is natural to think that events are caused by previous events, but then again, it is natural to think that we act freely as well, yet together, these plausible beliefs cannot be true. The two general…

Introduction The enduring age-old discussion regarding the existence of the independence or dependence of free will on moral responsibility are arguments supported by philosophers such as Robert Kane and Hume. There are those that contend that free will does not exists while others believe we have control over our actions. The existence of free will without moral responsibility will be explored through the arguments of free will and determinism, while the dependency will be discussed…

Under libertarianism, the greatest threat to an individual comes from the limitations set up by the government. Libertarians believe that certain laws restrict and invade people’s rights. In, “Anarchy, State and Utopia” by Robert Nozick, he developed a libertarian political philosophy called the entitlement theory. Here he argued that the minimal state, a state that is limited to the enforcement of contracts and the protection of individuals, is the only state that can be justified, and anything…

Many progressive movements in the 21st century call for the legalization of marijuana, citing studies that claim a lack of significant harmful effects. Simultaneously, many conservative groups act adamantly to prevent such legalization, or even reclassification of the drug into a lower risk category. It is not even agreed upon that the government needs to limit what abuses we subject our own bodies to at all. Libertarians would argue that the government need not be involved with what people do…

Have you ever wondered if you’re changing your own fate? Most believe that they do. This is what is called free will. The opposing side of free will is hard determinism. Hard determinism is a theory that everything that occurs in the universe is entirely determined to be that way, due to causation. Hard determinists believe choice does not exist, free will does not exist, and randomness does not exist. When you woke up this morning and picked out your clothes for the day was that free will or…

One of the positions on this issue is libertarianism, or the theory that humans are entirely free and are the sole cause for all of their actions. Alternatively, hard determinists believe that one’s thoughts and actions are pre-determined by previous events, and even claim that everything before…

In Riddles of Existence, Conee and Sider go over the description of free will. In this paper I will be discussing the problems of free will and also the determinist, libertarian, and compatibilist responses to this problem. I will also be mentioning some benefits and drawbacks of each position and the responses of a few philosophers. Free will consists of two beliefs. Belief one believes you have free will and the main point of belief one is that most people can act freely. Therefore, there…

Throughout my adolescence, I was raised, taught, and encouraged to believe that I have free will and I am held responsible for my actions. On the other hand, not many people were raised, taught or encouraged to believe the way I was. Most people believe they are not held responsible for their actions. There are external factors in which we have no control of and our ability to do things differently is limited. This means that if an external factor is causally determined, then your ability to do…

The libertarian Party of the United States has had a record breaking year as far as voter support goes a with a 6.7 percent polling average (Scher 2016). In the past voting turn out for the libertarian party had reached its all-time high by hardly surpassing 1 percent of the vote; however, with Gary Johnson as the parties presidential candidate they have seen much more popularity. This potential electoral outcome of over 5 percent could mean the establishment of the party according to the…