Can Determinists Act Under the Idea of Freedom
Channel: Martin Fricke
Date: 2020-07-01

This video was made for the Open Session of  the 2020 Joint Session of the Aristotelian Society and Mind Association.

Determinism is a fairly common philosophical view and also forms part of religious doctrines such as Islam and certain strands of Christianity. Is the existence of (acting) determinists incompatible with Kant’s claim that a rationally willed being “cannot act otherwise than under the idea of freedom” (G 4, 448)? In my paper, I examine Kant’s argument for this claim at the beginning of the Third Section of the Groundwork and argue that it amounts to the assertion that one cannot judge while being aware of being guided by invalid principles. Belief in determinism does not amount to such awareness.

You can download the long abstract for my talk here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pdgz21sbxds2oty/Can%20Determinists%20Act%20Under%20the%20Idea%20of%20Freedom%20-.pdf?dl=0

This is the link for downloading the PowerPoint slides (as PDF document): https://www.dropbox.com/s/0rr380x3zdldz34/Can%20Determinists%20Act%20Under%20the%20Idea%20of%20Freedom%3F.pdf?dl=0