← See the axis · Freedom of the will
ArgumentFreedom as the absence of constraint
To be free is to act from one's own reasons, not without a cause.
Supports Compatibilism
Hume · · 1748
- Compare the addict, driven by a craving he disowns, and the person who weighs her reasons and then acts accordingly: both have causes, but only the latter acts freely.
- Freedom is therefore opposed not to the cause, but to constraint: free is the act that flows from my own will, even if that will is itself determined.
- Thus freedom and are reconciled: I am the author of my acts so long as they pass through my deliberation, with no need for a power to escape causes.
Therefore So one can be free and responsible in a determined world: this is the thesis of .
How far does this reasoning convince you?
Not at all
Entirely
Put to the test
Objection