Philosophy 10 -- Study Guide #4

1. Explain how Holbach uses the example of the thirsty person to show that no matter what someone does, he or she has no free choice in how to act.
   
   
2. If, according to Holbach, the actions of a person are never free, what causes them?
   
   
3. How does Holbach answer a person who tries to prove him wrong by showing that she can choose either to move or not to move her hand? Why is such a person deluded about free will?
   
   
4. Why does Holbach think that a person who has no obstacles in his or her way still is not truly free?
   
   
5. According to Holbach, what is the source of the illusion of free will?
   
   
6. Why does Ayer consider the belief that our acts are free to be insufficient evidence for free will?
   
   
7. What does Ayer mean when he says that the possibility that an agent's act could have no causal explanation "does not give the moralist what he wants"?
   
   
8. According to Ayer, what is the problem with assigning moral responsibility on the basis of character?
   
   
9. Explain how Ayer interprets the problem of free will as being primarily a result of confusion about the meaning of "free". How does he think we should properly understand "freedom" in questions about human action?
   
   
10. Explain in your own words how Ayer tries to show that "cause" does not mean "compulsion". How does he think we should properly understand "cause"?
    
    
11. Explain the distinction Kane draws between "surface freedom" and free will. How could it be possible to have maximal surface freedom while lacking the deeper freedom of the will?
    
    
12. What is Skinner's argument against freedom of the will?
    
    
13. Explain how free will is related to moral responsibility.
    
    
14. What does Kane mean when he says that freedom of the will is not compatible with indeterminism any more than it is with determinism?
    
    
15. Describe in your own words what Kane thinks is going on when we make a decision in conditions of uncertainty, and what this has to do with indeterminism. Pay particular attention to the meaning he gives to the term "self-forming actions".
    
    
16. How does indeterminism happen in self-forming actions, according to Kane? How is this different from random or accidental indeterminism?
    
    
17. How does Kane explain the relation between "undetermined" and "uncaused"?
    
    
18. How are self-forming actions different from other actions when it comes to the way that indeterminism diminishes our control over what we do?
    
    
19. What reasons does Kane give for the necessity of using psychological terms in describing free will?
    
    
20. How does Kane answer the charge that if self-forming choices are undetermined, they must be arbitrary?
    
    
21. According to Nagel, why are we normally inclined to think that "there cannot be moral risk"?
    
    
22. What does Nagel mean by "moral luck"? Why does it pose a problem for moral judgment?
    
    
23. What does Nagel mean when he says that, in some choices, "the outcome determines what has been done"?
    
    
24. According to Nagel, what are the kinds of factors beyond our control that can influence the moral worth of our actions?
    
    
25. For Nagel, how is it ultimately possible for us to judge a person, even when "nothing remains which can be ascribed to the responsible self"?
    
    
26. Why does moral luck show that we cannot regard ourselves solely as parts of the world?