Philosophy of Mind and Free Will

Causal determinism is the idea that every event is caused by a prior event, and it is a fundamental principle of hard determinism.

Compatibilism is the view that determinism and free will are not necessarily incompatible, and that it is possible for both to coexist.

Libertarianism is the view that determinism and free will are incompatible, and that genuine free will requires the absence of determinism.

Hard incompatibilism is a stronger version of libertarianism that holds that determinism and free will are not only incompatible, but that determinism logically entails the absence of free will.

Soft incompatibilism is a weaker version of libertarianism that holds that determinism and free will are incompatible, but that it is possible for determinism to be true without entailing the absence of free will.

Compatibilism is the view that determinism and moral responsibility are not necessarily incompatible, and that it is possible for both to coexist.

Incompatibilism is the view that determinism and moral responsibility are incompatible, and that genuine moral responsibility requires the absence of determinism.

The concept of free will encompasses questions about the existence of independent choice, the role of external factors in shaping our actions, and the implications of free will for our moral accountability.

Determinism posits that all events, including human actions, are causally determined by prior events and conditions, leaving no room for genuine free will.

Hard determinism argues that the principle of causality, which states that every event has a cause, necessitates that human actions are predetermined and not freely chosen.

Compatibilism asserts that free will and determinism are not necessarily incompatible, arguing that actions can be both causally determined and freely chosen.

Compatibilists argue that even if our actions are causally determined, we still have the ability to make different choices in different circumstances, highlighting the existence of alternative possibilities.

Libertarianism maintains that human beings possess genuine free will, meaning that our choices are not causally determined by prior events or conditions.

Libertarians often posit the existence of an immaterial soul or mind as the source of our free will, arguing that it is independent of physical causation.

Critics of libertarianism argue that it violates the principle of causality, as it posits the existence of events (free choices) that are not causally determined by prior events.