University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Logical determinism, causal determinism, and free will

Castleton, Toby

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/21919

Description

Title
Logical determinism, causal determinism, and free will
Author(s)
Castleton, Toby
Issue Date
1992
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Melnick, Arthur
Department of Study
Philosophy
Discipline
Philosophy
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Philosophy
Language
eng
Abstract
  • In chapter one I argue that determinism is not fatalistic. This implies that free will is compatible with determinism.
  • Chapter two begins with what I believe is a sound argument for logical determinism, after which I argue that Arthur Prior is unsuccessful in his attempt to refute determinism by resting indeterminism on the principle of bivalence.
  • In Chapter three we examine a revision of Richard Taylor's argument for fatalism which turns the argument into one supporting logical determinism, but which is not fatalistic, and which withstands all of many arguments against it.
  • Chapter four is devoted to an examination of Jan Lukasiewicz's effort to support indeterministic free will. His aim is to show that it is not irrational to believe both in trivalent indeterminism as a basis for free will and in the universality of cause and effect. However, his argument implies that the notion of the universality of cause and effect cannot in its entirety be accommodated within his system. Therefore Lukasiewicz's argument is unsound.
  • The arguments in this essay, in my judgment, lend credence both to determinism's truth and to its compatibility with free will.
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/21919
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 1992 Castleton, Toby

Owning Collections

Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois
Dissertations and Theses - Philosophy