The argument for determinism (Holbach):
1. A free act is an uncaused act (the agent is the sole cause).
2. All events are caused.
3. Therefore, there are no free acts.
The argument for compatibilism (Ayer):
Premise (2) is true.
But premise (1) is false.
The opposite of freedom is not causation, but constraint.
An act can be both caused and unconstrained.
Therefore there can be free acts.
The argument for libertarianism (Campbell):
Premise (1) is true.
But premise (2) is false.
Even if most human acts are caused by a multitude of influences, there is at
least one kind that cannot be: an act of resistance to those influences.
Therefore, the decision to resist temptation and to try to do one's duty must
be an act of which the agent is the sole cause.
Have a look at another attempt to explain how these three positions
conflict in the free-will debate, to see if it
makes any more sense.
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