Paradoxes Of Free Will

Author : Gunther Siegmund Stent
Publisher : American Philosophical Society
Page : 314 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : Free will and determinism
ISBN : 0871699265

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Paradoxes of Free Will by Gunther Siegmund Stent Pdf

Driving human reason too far in the analysis of deep problems often leads to irresolvable inconsistencies and contradictions. In this 2002 J.F. Lewis Award-winning monograph, Gunther Stent traces the origins and development of the paradoxes of free will in this well-crafted introduction to philosophical debates regarding freedom of will. Free will poses one of the oldest and most vexatious philosophical problems, dating back to the beginnings of moral philosophy in ancient Greece. Pure theoretical reason implies that our actions are determined, while practical theoretical reason tells us that our will is free. Stent examines the arguments of moral responsibility versus determinism, from Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to Immanuel Kant, Niels Bohr, and Max Planck.

Author : Garrett Pendergraft
Publisher : Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Thought Experiments in Philosophy
Page : 250 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2022-06-15
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0367641941

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Free Will and Human Agency: 50 Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Thought Experiments by Garrett Pendergraft Pdf

In this new kind of entrée to discussions of free will and human agency, Pendergraft illuminates 50 puzzles, paradoxes, and thought experiments. Assuming no familiarity with the topic, each chapter describes a case, explains the questions that it raises, summarizes some of the key responses, and provides suggested readings.

Author : Sidney Hook
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 164 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2023-11-10
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780520347281

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The Paradoxes of Freedom by Sidney Hook Pdf

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1962.

Author : Garrett Pendergraft
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 237 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2022-07-21
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781000605358

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Free Will and Human Agency: 50 Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Thought Experiments by Garrett Pendergraft Pdf

In this new kind of entrée to contemporary discussions of free will and human agency, Garrett Pendergraft collects and illuminates 50 of the most relevant puzzles, paradoxes, and thought experiments. Assuming no familiarity with the philosophical literature on free will, each chapter describes a case, explains the questions that it raises, briefly summarizes some of the key responses to the case, and provides a list of suggested readings. Every chapter is accessible, succinct, and self-contained. The puzzles are divided into five broad categories: the threat from fatalism, the threat from determinism, practical reason, social dimensions, and moral luck. Entries cover topics such as the grandfather paradox, theological fatalism, the consequence argument, manipulation arguments, luck arguments, weakness of will, action explanation, addiction, blame and punishment, situationism in moral psychology, and Huckleberry Finn. Free Will and Human Agency is an effective and engaging teaching tool as well as a handy resource for anyone interested in exploring the questions that have made human agency a topic of perennial philosophical interest. Key Features: Though concise overall, offers broad coverage of the key areas of free will and human agency. Describes each imaginative case directly and in a memorable way, making the cases accessible and easy to remember. Provides a list of suggested readings for each case.

Author : Barry Schwartz
Publisher : Harper Collins
Page : 308 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2009-10-13
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780061748998

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The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz Pdf

Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

Author : Saul Smilansky
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 160 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2008-04-30
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780470695869

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10 Moral Paradoxes by Saul Smilansky Pdf

Presenting ten diverse and original moral paradoxes, this cutting edge work of philosophical ethics makes a focused, concrete case for the centrality of paradoxes within morality. Explores what these paradoxes can teach us about morality and the human condition Considers a broad range of subjects, from familiar topics to rarely posed questions, among them "Fortunate Misfortune", "Beneficial Retirement" and "Preferring Not To Have Been Born" Asks whether the existence of moral paradox is a good or a bad thing Presents analytic moral philosophy in a provocative, engaging and entertaining way; posing new questions, proposing possible solutions, and challenging the reader to wrestle with the paradoxes themselves

Author : Ryan Wasserman
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 261 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2018
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780198793335

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Paradoxes of Time Travel by Ryan Wasserman Pdf

Ryan Wasserman explores a range of fascinating puzzles raised by the possibility of time travel, with entertaining examples from physics, science fiction, and popular culture, and he draws out their implications for our understanding of time, tense, freedom, fatalism, causation, counterfactuals, laws of nature, persistence, change, and mereology.

Author : Christian Onof
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 202 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2024-02-22
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781350425385

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The Problem of Free Will and Naturalism by Christian Onof Pdf

The problem of free will is one of the oldest and most central philosophical conundrums. The contemporary debate around it has produced a range of sophisticated proposals, but shows no sign of leading to convergence. Christian Onof reviews these contemporary approaches and argues that their main shortcomings are ultimately due to paradoxical requirements on free will imposed by the naturalistic framework. Onof singles out Kant's critical solution as one that stands out among historical approaches insofar as it is based upon a rejection of this framework. By using the same methodological tool that he applies to contemporary proposals, namely a distinction between a volitional account of how we control our actions, a psychological account of the reasons for it and a metaphysical account of our status as agent, Onof shows that Kant's solution constitutes a coherent picture of free will. By exhibiting the structure running through several key publications of Kant's critical period and drawing upon unpublished notes, Onof addresses several debates which loom large in contemporary Kant literature. His exegetical work puts Kant's theory into conversation with contemporary analytic theories of free will and leads to defining a Kantian position that overcomes the issues plaguing existing approaches to the problem of free will.

Author : Agustin Rayo
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 321 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2019-04-02
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 9780262039413

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On the Brink of Paradox by Agustin Rayo Pdf

An introduction to awe-inspiring ideas at the brink of paradox: infinities of different sizes, time travel, probability and measure theory, and computability theory. This book introduces the reader to awe-inspiring issues at the intersection of philosophy and mathematics. It explores ideas at the brink of paradox: infinities of different sizes, time travel, probability and measure theory, computability theory, the Grandfather Paradox, Newcomb's Problem, the Principle of Countable Additivity. The goal is to present some exceptionally beautiful ideas in enough detail to enable readers to understand the ideas themselves (rather than watered-down approximations), but without supplying so much detail that they abandon the effort. The philosophical content requires a mind attuned to subtlety; the most demanding of the mathematical ideas require familiarity with college-level mathematics or mathematical proof. The book covers Cantor's revolutionary thinking about infinity, which leads to the result that some infinities are bigger than others; time travel and free will, decision theory, probability, and the Banach-Tarski Theorem, which states that it is possible to decompose a ball into a finite number of pieces and reassemble the pieces so as to get two balls that are each the same size as the original. Its investigation of computability theory leads to a proof of Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem, which yields the amazing result that arithmetic is so complex that no computer could be programmed to output every arithmetical truth and no falsehood. Each chapter is followed by an appendix with answers to exercises. A list of recommended reading points readers to more advanced discussions. The book is based on a popular course (and MOOC) taught by the author at MIT.

Author : Piotr Łukowski
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 196 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2011-06-02
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9789400714762

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Paradoxes by Piotr Łukowski Pdf

This book, provides a critical approach to all major logical paradoxes: from ancient to contemporary ones. There are four key aims of the book: 1. Providing systematic and historical survey of different approaches – solutions of the most prominent paradoxes discussed in the logical and philosophical literature. 2. Introducing original solutions of major paradoxes like: Liar paradox, Protagoras paradox, an unexpected examination paradox, stone paradox, crocodile, Newcomb paradox. 3. Explaining the far-reaching significance of paradoxes of vagueness and change for philosophy and ontology. 4. Proposing a novel, well justified and, as it seems, natural classification of paradoxes.

Author : Gary L. Drescher
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 365 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780262042338

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Good and Real by Gary L. Drescher Pdf

Examining a series of provocative paradoxes about consciousness, choice, ethics, and other topics, Good and Real tries to reconcile a purely mechanical view of the universe with key aspects of our subjective impressions of our own existence. In Good and Real, Gary Drescher examines a series of provocative paradoxes about consciousness, choice, ethics, quantum mechanics, and other topics, in an effort to reconcile a purely mechanical view of the universe with key aspects of our subjective impressions of our own existence. Many scientists suspect that the universe can ultimately be described by a simple (perhaps even deterministic) formalism; all that is real unfolds mechanically according to that formalism. But how, then, is it possible for us to be conscious, or to make genuine choices? And how can there be an ethical dimension to such choices? Drescher sketches computational models of consciousness, choice, and subjunctive reasoning--what would happen if this or that were to occur? --to show how such phenomena are compatible with a mechanical, even deterministic universe. Analyses of Newcomb's Problem (a paradox about choice) and the Prisoner's Dilemma (a paradox about self-interest vs. altruism, arguably reducible to Newcomb's Problem) help bring the problems and proposed solutions into focus. Regarding quantum mechanics, Drescher builds on Everett's relative-state formulation--but presenting a simplified formalism, accessible to laypersons--to argue that, contrary to some popular impressions, quantum mechanics is compatible with an objective, deterministic physical reality, and that there is no special connection between quantum phenomena and consciousness. In each of several disparate but intertwined topics ranging from physics to ethics, Drescher argues that a missing technical linchpin can make the quest for objectivity seem impossible, until the elusive technical fix is at hand.

Author : Matthew R. Dasti,Edwin F. Bryant
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 337 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2014
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780199922734

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Free Will, Agency, and Selfhood in Indian Philosophy by Matthew R. Dasti,Edwin F. Bryant Pdf

Focusing on the rich and variegated cluster of Indic philosophical traditions as they developed from the late Vedic period up to the pre-modern period, this book offers an understanding, according to each school, of the nature of free will and agency.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 12 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 1842
Category : Free will and determinism
ISBN : BL:A0022227255

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The Divine Foreknowledge by Anonim Pdf

Author : Dr. Carroll M. Helm
Publisher : WestBowPress
Page : 222 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2013-11-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781490813127

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God’s Mysteries and Paradoxes: Looking Through the Glass, Darkly by Dr. Carroll M. Helm Pdf

God’s Mysteries and Paradoxes: Looking through the Glass Darkly is a book about paradoxes and how they were actually created by God to bring unique enlightenment but also to confound the so-called earthly wisdom. Paradoxes also keep believers humble by showing them that God’s ways are not always man’s ways. “For this is what the high and lofty One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy; I live in a high and holy place but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite (Isaiah 57: 15).” This book introduces the reader to the ancient idea of “The Divine Paradox” written by Hermes Tristmegistus (thrice great) in The Divine Pylander. An additional book, Corpus Hermeticum, was translated by Marsilo Ficino during the early Renaissance and helps frame the philosophical paradox of nature versus faith. This book, along with other fragments written by Hermes Trismegistus, was translated in the early 1400s and caused a rebirth of its teachings during the Renaissance. Modern secret societies and the occult are using much of the same knowledge to deceive people in the world today. Evidence shows Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon, and the Knights Templar possessed ancient knowledge and from it gave rise to secret organizations and societies operating today, including the Illuminati, Freemasons, and modern occultists.

Author : Mark Chang
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 291 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2012-10-15
Category : Computers
ISBN : 9781466509870

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Paradoxes in Scientific Inference by Mark Chang Pdf

Paradoxes are poems of science and philosophy that collectively allow us to address broad multidisciplinary issues within a microcosm. A true paradox is a source of creativity and a concise expression that delivers a profound idea and provokes a wild and endless imagination. The study of paradoxes leads to ultimate clarity and, at the same time, indisputably challenges your mind. Paradoxes in Scientific Inference analyzes paradoxes from many different perspectives: statistics, mathematics, philosophy, science, artificial intelligence, and more. The book elaborates on findings and reaches new and exciting conclusions. It challenges your knowledge, intuition, and conventional wisdom, compelling you to adjust your way of thinking. Ultimately, you will learn effective scientific inference through studying the paradoxes.