more from Trenton Merricks

Single Idea 6149

[catalogued under 16. Persons / F. Free Will / 7. Compatibilism]

Full Idea

The main recent support for incompatibilism is the 'no choice' argument: we have no choice that the past and the laws of nature entail human actions, we have no choice about what the past or the laws are like, so we have no choice about our actions.

Gist of Idea

Free will and determinism are incompatible, since determinism destroys human choice

Source

Trenton Merricks (Objects and Persons [2003], §6.III)

Book Reference

Merricks,Trenton: 'Objects and Persons' [OUP 2003], p.155


A Reaction

Since I consider free will to be an absurd chimera, I think this argument involves a total misunderstanding of what a 'choice' is. Since the human brain is a wonderfully sophisticated choosing machine, our whole life consists of choices.