Harry Frankfurt s Arguments For The Compatibilism Of...

In this paper, I will consider Harry Frankfurt s arguments for the compatibilism of determinism and freedom of will, as presented in Freedom of Will and the Concept of Person and some problems that arise with his reasoning. I will claim that those problems do not come from any propositions central to Frankfurt s argument, but rather from his neglect of the issue of the relationship between freedom of will and moral responsibility. I will argue, that Frankfurt makes an invalid implicit assumption that the connection between freedom and responsibility is biconditional. I will also claim that if this mistake is corrected, Frankfurt s argument can be made immune to some criticisms commonly presented in response to it. Frankfurt begins with several crucial definitions. First, he defines first-order desires as desires to act, and second-order desires as desires to want. He then defines an agent s will (or a first-order volition) as a first-order desire upon which the agent eventually acts, and an agent s second-order volition as a desire that some first-order desire become the agent s will. Frankfurt defines a person as an agent who has second-order volitions, as opposed to a wanton - an agent (possibly rational) which has no second-order volitions. Frankfurt defines freedom of will as an ability to bring one s will into correspondence with one s second-order volitions. He then proceeds to show that freedom of will, defined in this way, is in no wayShow MoreRelatedThe View That Determinism Is Not Incompatible With Free Will3559 Words   |  15 PagesMichael Colon Dr. Buchholz, D. Introduction to Philosophy I 11/01/2014 Compatibilism: Discussion and concerns Compatibilism is defined as â€Å"the view that determinism is not incompatible with free will.† In this holding, if determinism were valid, a person still has free will. One of the initial forms of compatibilism is the holding that to be imbued with free will â€Å"is simply for one’s choice to cause one’s actions. Free will is basically doing what one wants; in the example of Hume, free will is basicallyRead More The Free Will Debate Essay2989 Words   |  12 PagesThe unique ability that each and every individual possesses that enable him/her to control their actions is known as free will. Free will is directly connected to two other vital philosophical issues: freedom of action and moral accountability, which is the main reason why the debate is so vital. Simply stated, a person who has free will refers to an individual’s ability to choose his or her route of action. However, animals also appear to suit this measure, further adding to the debate beca use free