- Home
- ACADEMIC
- Philosophy
- Philosophy of Religion
- Free Will
You must sign in to add this item to your wishlist. Please sign in or create an account
Description
Much contemporary scholarship on free will focuses on whether it is compatible with causal determinism. According to compatibilists, it is possible for an agent to be determined in all her choices and actions and still be free. Incompatibilists, on the other hand, think that the existence of free will is incompatible with the truth of determinism. There are two dominant general conceptions of the nature of free will. According to the first of these, free will is primarily a function of being able to do otherwise than one in fact does. On this view, free will centrally depends upon alternative possibilities. The second approach focuses instead on issues of sourcehood, holding that free will is primarily a function of an agent being the source of her actions in a particular way. This book demarcates these two different conceptions free will, explores the relationship between them, and examines how they relate to the debate between compatibilists and incompatibilists. It ultimately argues for a version of Source Incompatibilism.
Table of Contents
1. The Basics
Part II. Alternative Possibilities
2. The Debate Over the Ability to Do Otherwise
3. The Dilemma Defense
4. The Flicker Strategy
Part III. The Importance of Sourcehood
5. Sourcehood as Compatible with Determinism
6. Sourcehood and Incompatibilism
7. Sourcehood and Alternative Possibilities
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | Jul 23 2008 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 208 |
| ISBN | 9781441115041 |
| Imprint | Continuum |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
-
'Timpe's Free Will: Sourcehood and Its Alternatives, is a very fine book that is highly recommended for anyone interested in the contemporary debates about free will and moral responsibility. Timpe is remarkably well-versed in the literature, and the book makes many intriguing and illuminating contributions.' Professor John Fischer, University of California Riverside, USA
-
A valuable contribution to this series, introducing the reader to the fascinating but often complex philosophical issues pertaining to the discussion of free will.
Ethical Perspectives Vol. 18
















