- published: 28 Mar 2012
- views: 720957
Free will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long been debated in philosophy. Historically, the constraint of dominant concern has been the metaphysical constraint of determinism. The two main positions within that debate are metaphysical libertarianism, the claim that determinism is false and thus that free will exists (or is at least possible); and hard determinism, the claim that determinism is true and thus that free will does not exist.
Both of these positions, which agree that causal determination is the relevant factor in the question of free will, are classed as incompatibilist. Positions that deny that determinism is relevant are classified as compatibilist, and offer various alternative explanations of what constraints are relevant, such as physical constraints (e.g. chains or imprisonment), social constraints (e.g. threat of punishment or censure), or psychological constraints (e.g. compulsions or phobias). In fact, compatibilists will often assert that determinism is not just compatible with free will, but actually necessary for it.
Free Will is a dream
Fate is tattooed on our backs
We've never even made a choice
All we've ever had is sweet Determinism.
Sometimes you may feel surprised,
Sometime you might even start to feel free
But it's just all the effects and causes adding up
To everything that had to be.
No bra on her tits
Her tongue tucked in her cheek
And a short black skirt with nothing underneath
But sweet Feminism.
Sometimes she may seem intimidating
Sometimes you might even start to feel uneasy
But it's just your conventions and norms, your societal scorns
Towards her natural born identity. (You're no help at all, let her be! )
I'm glad to be unhappy again
Discontentment is relief
I have a confession, I loved my depression and I missed my misery
All that sweet Pessimism.
Sometimes you may feel alright
Sometimes you might even start to think positively
But the clouds and rain are coming back 'round again