philosophy of freedom

1. The Ph losophy Freedo
How Free Are We, Really*

2. Iife you've always
seem tO
free
--Nan from Kurt Vonnegut's
Deer in the Works
are ne for some
rive on
1955)
at

3. Oed pus Fatal Read
• Fatalism: The future is
fixed, irrespective of our
attempts to change it
• We are governed by Fate
• Response* How could
you argue otherwise*

4. Puritanism/CaIvinism-Fatalists
” ”’'
• God is omniscient--
knows our future
- “ • Future must unfold in
accordance with
God s knowledge
• Predestination: the
elect and the damned
' • We have no free will
Augustus Saint-Gardens
1887 (first version)
bfOnze statuette. 2 6'/ " H

5. ETE
From
Skinner
tO Freud tO

6. Determ
Every
Free
precededT i
t
The world
.
There IS no randomness
—Everything follows inevitably from the events that
Scientific way of seeing
event act. decision
exist
Philosophy of cause and effect
ism (AKA Causal
worlcl
ol necessity
IS orderly and abides by natural laws
actions are caused by antecedents

8. Merovingian:
toldi
O
pOwer,
pretend,
separates
IS
without
lie.
way of all ’hings. You see.
are completely out of control. [inhales) Causality. There is no
peace ’
I
Si0 understand it. iO understand
universe: we struggle against it. we fight
from inem you me.
come nere ano ‘hen you obeyed.
Merovingian: NO. WrOng. ChOice IS an
those with power and those without. ..And this is the nature of the
poised appearance.
Why
And
only one
illusion.
deny
[chucklesj
it is the onIy real truth: causality. Action, reactiOFl. Cause, effect.
Morpheus: Everything begins with choice.
escaping it. We are forever slaves IO it. Our only hope
how
constant.
created between
one universal.
it IS Of
OUF only
why. Why ’
I
Sw'hat
You are were because you were senİ were. ÿ0U were
irut!h I'S we
it yOu are powerless. ihis IS you come ¢
'
O
’
I
SOf course ihe
’
IS onlly real source of
me: without why, without power, another link in the chain.

9. Gree
k
laws order
Leucippus: “Naught
happens for nothing but
everything from a ground
of necessity.'
There ”IS no
Atomlsłs:
Atoms move along
specified trajectories
adhere o natural
chance.
randomness
Democritus
and
no
Leucippus(c. 460 BC-?) and
460-370 BC)
Democritus

10. Pavlov and COndition ng
Ivan Pavlov (1g49—
1936)
physiologist
Classical
Conditioning
a can
evoke an automat•c
response by
repetition

12. Before conditioning
SALIVATION
(UCS) (UCR)
BELL NO RESPONSE
Durin
BELL +
ng
SALIVATION
After conditioning
BALIVAYION
BELL
(CS) (CR)

14. Life .
Bowling
down a
pigeons,
slide
nner's Theories
reinforcement
—Reinforcing behavior that approximates desired result
Slowly moving ioward end goal
IS system of consequences
eaching children iO read OF go

15. Skinner's Theories,
• Behavior Modification
—
Eliminate undesirable behavior by removing
reinforcementand replacing with desirable
behavior and reinforcement
• Animals humans are basically machines
that can be trained
• All behaviors are learned; there is no free

16. Are you conditioned?
Driving?
Grades*
Dating?
• What's your assessment of Skinner's
viewpoint*
Do you agree?
Sk‹nner

17. morality
Personality
during
Freu
par of unconscious
shaped
chi
ld
ho
od
Id=the instinctual animal
self
desire driven
pleasure principal
par Of ihe unconscious
Ego=the conscious self
thinking fational
Superego-social
conscience
Review
--pictured here
.
in
Sigmund Freud (1956-1939)

19. Dene n"
IS
All OÍ our choices actions stem
unconsciouslyfrom events that occurred in
childhood
Ego powerless
Id superegon constant
2-horse carriage analogy
Ego has no reins
We have no free
.
II
WI

20. Assessment of Freud
• What do you make of Freud's theories*
• Do you think that everything we do today
is a result of something that happened to
us in childhood?
• Are there some decisions actions that
have nothing to do with our childhood*

21. Movin
g
of 10
Case study: Woman says, every man date
abuses me”
Mother was hit by father
Mother=woman íather=man
—Woman unconsciouslychooses brutal men
Knowing this help her IO make better choices
• Not all decisions stem from childhood
Critique OÍ Freudian Determ nism
a pawn i
”n chess ? Going 10bed at 11 instead

22. wanting what
SOÎt Determ n
gets” loving one's fate
finding łranquility no matterwhat OCCURS
choice in attitude
Some freedom exists within the natural order of
things
StO CISłTI
—the philosophy of indifference to one s surroundings
Noble perseverance
—one cannot change one s surroundings/fate
are latalists

23. Brueghel s Landscape with the Fall oł lcarus (c. 1558)

24. Deters
exists
Free WI
determ nism)
compatible with natural law necessity
(soft determ nism)
There no free WI
ISlTl and Free Wi
.
I either does FlOt exist (hard
such a way as to be
.
I because OUr

25. Paul
afte
r
Primarily a 20
Philosophy
Developed by
Albert Camus
Sartre
WWI
Century
But rooted in 19 h Century
(Nietzsche, Kierkegaard)
ã ã
phdose hers
during and
Encapsulated in this
statement by Sartre:
nothing but my own
conscious existence.
am
ExistentialISlTl
Jean Paul (1905-1980

26. Paul
afte
r
Primarily a 20
Philosophy
Developed by
Albert Camus
Sartre
WWI
Century
But rooted in 19 h Century
(Nietzsche, Kierkegaard)
ã ã
phdose hers
during and
Encapsulated in this
statement by Sartre:
nothing but my own
conscious existence.
am
ExistentialISlTl
Jean Paul (1905-1980

27. and U lt
The world .
meaningless
Existentialis
There no order in niverse
IS irrational absurd and
Delin 0n
Society, science, philosophy religion tries
to create order in part by bestowing labels
• Confronting this causes alienation anxiety

28. Themes
Existence precedes
Free Will
Anxiety and
Anguish
Absurdity
Nothingness
Alienation and
Estrangement
Existential SlTi

29. Experience and
existence is more
important than the
labels that society
places on him her
Most people conform
to an essence
The waiter, the
boyfriend
Existence precedes essence

30. To truly
n
g
Most people
conformity rather than risk making a
maki choices
take
Free Wi
easy path o
f
We are not determined by late; we have
choices
live one FFlUStbe willing tO risk

31. Anxiety and Anguish

32. Determinism
--Free Will Does
-The universe
Contin
Exist
governed
causal laws out of our control
Free Wi
Existentialism
-Free will does exist
--The world absurd
and meaningless

33. • What does Slaughterhouse-Five have to
say about free will
• What examples can you find that comment
on free will either explicitly or implicitly*
Does Billy make choices?
Does Vonnegut agree with the
Tralfamadorians*
Free Wi

34. Determinism and Slaughterhouse-Five
...All time is all time. It does not change. It
does not lead to warnings or explanations. It
simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you
will find that we are all, as I've said before bugs
in amber.”
“You sound to me like you don t believe in
free will " said Billy Pilgrim.
“...Only on Earth is there any talk of free will”
(86).
• The Tralfamadorian ushes the button
(which destroys the uWverse)

35. Slaughterhouse-Fire, cont.
• Serenity Prayer
—
God grant me the serenity to accept the
things I cannot change, courage to change
the things I can and wisdom to know the
difference.
• Dr. Rheinhold Niebuhr, a Christian
theologian
• Prayer printed on small cards and
distributed to US troops by the USO