Of Liberty and Necessity

             David Hume's Of Liberty and Necessity examines the theory of soft determinism. This theory claims that our actions are free within a deterministic world. Determinism is the thesis that says "a complete description of the causal facts at one time uniquely determine what must happen next" (Sober 571). The essay suggests that the dispute over free will continues because several terms relating to the problem are "ambiguous." He claims that with a detailed analysis of the words freedom (Hume uses liberty) and necessity, it will become clear that free will is not lost in a deterministic world. Hume's argument attempts to define what freedom is, and prove that determinism does not rule out an agent's ability to act freely. Hume meets criticism as his definition of freedom neglects to account for some issues that are problematic to his vision of free will in a causal world.
             According to Hume, freedom is the ability to act or not act in accordance with will. His theory says that an action is "free if it is causally related to the agent's beliefs and desires in a particular way" (Sober 312). He argues that "if we choose to remain at rest, we may; if we choose to move, we also may... This hypothetical liberty is universally allowed to belong to everyone who is not a prisoner in chains" (Hume 372). This definition of freedom suggests that an action is not free if and only if an agent could not have chosen to act otherwise.
             Hume's argument for the presence of free will in a deterministic world seems to be a priori, meaning he assumes it independent of sense experience. Hume makes assumptions about the mechanical nature of the universe. He speculates that with enough information about the events leading up to a decision or action, it is possible to accurately describe the outcome of the events. This theory is called the doctrine of necessity, and it explains that "ma...

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Of Liberty and Necessity. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 05:06, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/89066.html