Free Will

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Freedom matters to us. Most, if not all of us, find the suggestion that we may not be in control of our lives unpleasant. Happily, most of us also have the sense that we can to some extent carve out our own purposes and (hopefully more often than not) see them realized in the world. But is freedom really possible or are we under the grip of a powerful and widespread illusion? How is it that evolution could have produced creatures capable of free agency? Suppose that most of us are right and freedom really is possible: is it possible for everyone or only a privileged few? If freedom isn’t possible for everyone, under which conditions is it possible and how might we go about obtaining and improving it? In this course we will explore questions such as these from a philosophical perspective. Readings will consist of selections from historical thinkers such as Laozi, Hume, Spinoza, and Paulo Freire as well as contemporary philosophers such as Chandra Sripada, Daniel Dennett and Susan Wolf. Through a close reading of such texts students will gain the ability to interpret and evaluate philosophical arguments and at the same time a deep appreciation of the problems of free will and why they matter.