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The libertarian predicament: a plea for action theory
Niels van Miltenburg1, Dawa Ometto1
1Department of Philosophy and Religious Sciences, Utrecht University, Janskerkhof 13, 3512 BL Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Synthese
|March 16, 2019
Summary
Libertarians face challenges defending indeterministic free will against compatibilism and the luck objection. Adopting the causal theory of action (CTA) may hinder their defense, suggesting action theory is central to the free will debate.
Area of Science:
- Philosophy of Mind
- Metaphysics
- Ethics
Background:
- Libertarian free will faces challenges regarding the necessity and possibility of indeterminism.
- Compatibilism is the philosophical mainstream position on free will.
- The luck objection questions the coherence of indeterministic free will.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the impact of the causal theory of action (CTA) on libertarian free will arguments.
- To evaluate the compatibility of CTA with libertarianism's defense against compatibilism and the luck objection.
- To propose alternative strategies for libertarian free will, emphasizing action theory.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical argumentation and conceptual analysis.
- Critique of contemporary libertarian approaches, particularly those employing CTA.
- Examination of agent-causal theories as an alternative.
Main Results:
- Adopting CTA to address the luck objection inadvertently weakens the defense against compatibilism.
- CTA may be inherently biased towards compatibilist free will.
- Current agent-causal accounts face similar challenges to event-causalist theories.
Conclusions:
- The causal theory of action may not be a suitable strategy for libertarians.
- Libertarianism should emphasize that intentional action necessitates indeterminism.
- Action theory requires renewed focus in the free will debate, potentially shifting focus from event-causation to agent-causation.
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