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Peter van Inwagen, author of the classic book An Essay on Free Will (1983), has established himself over the last forty years as a leading figure in the philosophical debate about the problem of free will. This volume presents eleven influential essays from throughout his career, as well as two new and previously unpublished essays, 'The Problem of Fr** W*ll' and 'Ability'. The essays include discussions of determinism, moral responsibility, 'Frankfurt counterexamples', the meaning of 'the ability to do otherwise', and the very definition of free will, as well as critiques of writings on the topic by Daniel Dennett and David Lewis. An introduction by the author discusses the history of his thinking about free will. The volume will be a valuable resource for those looking to engage with van Inwagen's significant contributions to this perennially important topic.
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Der Tod widerfahrt uns in unserer Leiblichkeit, die aber tragt eine geschlechtliche Signatur. Wussten Sie, dass in der Bibel keine einzige Frau Suizid begeht, dass aber heute mehr Frauen als Manner aktive Sterbehilfe in Anspruch nehmen? Haben Sie sich schon einmal Gedanken daruber gemacht, ob sich uber den Tod Jesu genderspezifische Aussagen machen lassen und ob das (Nicht-)Trauern-Konnen mit der je eigenen geschlechtlichen Identitat zu tun hat? Konnten Sie beobachten, ob demenzkranke Menschen die Geschlechterrollen ihres bisherigen Lebens beibehalten oder durchbrechen? Und wenn Sie uber den Tod hinaus hoffen, haben Sie dann auch Hoffnung fur Ihre Leiblichkeit und Geschlechtlichkeit? Hat fur Sie gar der Tod selbst ein Geschlecht? Wurden Sie fur Ihre Beerdigung eher einen Bestatter oder eine Bestatterin wahlen? Fragen wie diesen und vielen anderen rund um den Zusammenhang von Tod und Gender in Geschichte und Gegenwart gehen die Beitrage dieses Bandes nach, die aus allen theologischen Disziplinen sowie aus Philosophie, Religions- und Kulturwissenschaften stammen. Sie zielen auf eine neue Wahrnehmung von gender diversity im Umgang mit Sterben und Tod und damit zugleich auf die Befreiung aus normativen Manner- und Frauenbildern im Horizont einer realistischen Anthropologie.
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Central to the teachings of Christianity is a puzzle: on the one hand, sin seems something that humans do not do freely and so cannot be not responsible for, since it is unavoidable; on the other hand, sin seems something that we must be responsible for and so do freely, since we are enjoined to repent of it, and since it makes us liable to divine condemnation and forgiveness. After laying out the puzzle in more depth, this Element considers three possible responses—libertarian, soft determinist, and free-will skeptic—and weighs the costs and benefits of each.
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Does free will exist? The question has fueled heated debates spanning from philosophy to psychology and religion. The answer has major implications, and the stakes are high. To put it in the simple terms that have come to dominate these debates, if we are free to make our own decisions, we are accountable for what we do, and if we aren't free, we're off the hook.There are neuroscientists who claim that our decisions are made unconsciously and are therefore outside of our control and social psychologists who argue that myriad imperceptible factors influence even our minor decisions to the extent that there is no room for free will. According to philosopher Alfred R. Mele, what they point to as hard and fast evidence that free will cannot exist actually leaves much room for doubt. If we look more closely at the major experiments that free will deniers cite, we can see large gaps where the light of possibility shines through. In Free: Why Science Hasn't Disproved Free Will, Mele lays out his opponents' experiments simply and clearly, and proceeds to debunk their supposed findings, one by one, explaining how the experiments don't provide the solid evidence for which they have been touted. There is powerful evidence that conscious decisions play an important role in our lives, and knowledge about situational influences can allow people to respond to those influences rationally rather than with blind obedience.Mele also explores the meaning and ramifications of free will. What, exactly, does it mean to have free will -- is it a state of our soul, or an undefinable openness to alternative decisions? Is it something natural and practical that is closely tied to moral responsibility? Since evidence suggests that denying the existence of free will actually encourages bad behavior, we have a duty to give it a fair chance.
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Can we ever act freely if everything we do is determined by our genes, our upbringing and our environment? On the other hand, if everything we do isn't determined, is it just a matter of luck what we do? What are the requirements on acting freely: are they easily satisfied by ordinary people so long as they aren't coerced or manipulated or suffering from compulsion, or does acting freely involve requirements that are difficult or impossible to meet? This introduction to the contemporary free will debate explores these questions in a lively and accessible way, with the emphasis on giving readers the intellectual tools to make their own minds up on this important and controversial topic.
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