Is Free Will an Illusion?

• Main Authors: Ling-Fang Kuo, 郭凌峰
• Other Authors: Allen Y. Hong
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/40875758091894450213

碩士 === 國立陽明大學 === 心智哲學研究所 === 100 === We have the feeling of free will, but we are not sure whether the real free will exists or not. Different theories offer different answers to the following question: is free will an illusion? The soft determinist and the libertarian are inclined to take the view that free will is not an illusion. However, the hard determinist holds the contrary view. In this thesis, I will raise the problems and the limitations with these theories and provide a process view of free will explaining why free will is not an illusion. The three theories each have their own problems. The problem of soft determinism is that their discussions do not address the metaphysical question of free will. The problem of libertarianism is that their discussions seem incompatible with naturalism. The problem of hard determinism, on the other hand, is that they think free will is a state which happens at a specific moment. This intuitive view about free will is presupposed by many researchers without careful reflection. In this paper I will argue against this view and propose a process view. After this clarification, we can explain the experiments of Libet and Wegner better, without accepting free will as an illusion.