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Key Terms (will be on quiz) question of freedom free will obvious fact of freedom uniformity of natural law scientific thinker illusion of freedom freedom compatible with laws of nature important question The Philosophy of Freedom
Conscious Human Action 1.0 Question of Freedom [1] Is a human being spiritually free, or subject to the iron necessity of purely natural law? Few questions have excited so much ingenuity. The idea of the freedom of human will has found both sanguine supporters and stiffnecked opponents in plenty. There are those who, in their moral zeal, cast aspersions on the intellect of anyone who can deny so obvious a fact as freedom. They are opposed by others who see the acme of unscientific thinking in the belief that the lawfulness of nature fails to apply to the area of human action and thinking. One and the same thing is explained equally often as the most precious possession of humankind and as its worst illusion. Infinite subtlety has been expended to explain how human freedom is consistent with the workings of nature of which, after all, human beings are also a part. No less effort has gone into the attempt from the other side to explain how such a delusion could ever have arisen. All but the most superficial thinkers feel that we have to do here with one of the most important questions of life, religion, conduct, and science. |
Free Online Course POF-01: Introduction To The Philosophy Of Freedom: Mastering The Content