Free Will (5)

Destiny or fate is a predetermined course of events that is believed to be a fixed natural order in the cosmos. It is often used interchangeably with the word "fate," but the two have different connotations. While fate implies that there is a set course that cannot be deviated from and over which one has no control, destiny implies that there is a set course that cannot be deviated from, but does not necessarily conflict with the concept of free will. Theological determinism is the belief that all events are predestined by a monotheistic deity, and comes in two forms: strong, in which God has absolute control over a person's actions, and weak, in which humans have free will but God's omniscience means that their actions are already known. Incompatibilism is the belief that free will and determinism are incompatible, while compatibilism holds that they can coexist. In the philosophy of mind, physicalism is the belief that everything that exists is no more extensive than its physical properties, while dualism holds that the mind is a nonphysical substance. The concept of free will is closely tied to the mind-body problem, which is the consideration of the relationship between the mind and the body.

According to classical compatibilism, an individual's choices are considered to be free as long as they are in line with the person's desires and it is possible for the person to do otherwise. This means that the presence of external constraints, such as being a prisoner or being in chains, would prevent an individual from exercising free will. On the other hand, as long as a person is able to act according to their own desires and choices, they are considered to have free will. This view of free will is often attributed to philosophers like Thomas Hobbes and David Hume, and is based on the idea that free will is tied to an individual's personal desires and abilities.

Theological determinism is a belief that all events that occur have been predetermined by a monotheistic deity. There are two forms of theological determinism: strong and weak. Strong theological determinism states that everything that happens has been predestined by an all-knowing, all-powerful deity. Weak theological determinism is based on the idea that because God has perfect knowledge of the future, what God knows will inevitably happen, meaning the future is already fixed. The compatibility of metaphysical libertarian free will with theological determinism depends on one's interpretation of omniscience. Some believe that weak theological determinism is compatible with metaphysical libertarian free will, while others believe it is incompatible. The argument for theological fatalism, a form of hard theological determinism, is that divine foreknowledge implies destiny, which eliminates alternate possibility and is therefore incompatible with metaphysical libertarian free will. Compatibilism is the belief that determinism is compatible with free will. Physicalism is the belief that everything that exists can be reduced to its physical properties and that there are no non-physical substances. Non-reductive physicalism asserts that mental states are not ontologically reducible to physical states. Incompatibilism is the belief that determinism is incompatible with free will. It requires a distinction between the mental and the physical and the belief that the mind can influence physical reality. Compatibilism can be based on the idea that free will is the ability to act according to one's determined motives without hindrance from others, or on the belief that freely choosing to do what constraints allow is sufficient for free will.

Theological determinism is a belief that all events that occur are predetermined by a monotheistic deity, or are destined to happen due to the deity's omniscience. There are two forms of this belief: strong theological determinism, which states that a creator deity dictates all events in history, and weak theological determinism, which is based on the idea that because God has perfect foreknowledge, the future is already fixed. The compatibility of metaphysical libertarian free will with theological determinism is a topic of debate, with some arguing that it is incompatible with strong theological determinism, but compatible with weak theological determinism.

Physicalism is a theory that everything that exists is no more extensive than its physical properties, and there are no non-physical substances such as independent minds. Physicalism can be reductive or non-reductive. Reductive physicalism holds that everything in the world can be reduced to its physical basis, while non-reductive physicalism asserts that mental properties form a separate ontological class from physical properties. Compatibilism is the belief that determinism is compatible with free will, and that freedom can be present or absent for reasons unrelated to metaphysics. Incompatibilism, on the other hand, is the belief that determinism is incompatible with free will and requires a distinction between the mental and physical. In the philosophy of decision theory, the question of how much a conscious being's choices can influence the future is examined.

In the debate over free will, theological fatalism asserts that divine foreknowledge of all future events means that everything is predetermined and therefore, one cannot do otherwise. This belief is often used to argue against the existence of metaphysical libertarian free will and is accepted as the basis for denying either divine foreknowledge or libertarian free will, leading to theological determinism. However, some argue against this perspective, stating that denying the truth value of future contingents (despite this also denying foreknowledge and determinism), asserting differences in non-temporal knowledge, or denying the principle of alternate possibilities may provide alternatives to this argument. On the other hand, physical determinism, the idea that everything that exists is limited to its physical properties and that there are no non-physical substances, is often seen as incompatible with free will. Incompatibilism, the belief that determinism and free will are incompatible, requires a separation between the mental and physical and asserts that the mind can influence physical reality. Compatibilism, on the other hand, argues that determinism is compatible with free will, stating that external constraints or internal psychological factors can influence an individual's ability to act freely. Some compatibilist theories even suggest that free will can be present or absent in a situation for reasons unrelated to metaphysics. In the philosophy of decision theory, the extent to which the choices of a conscious being can influence the future is also a topic of debate.