Libertarianism (metaphysics)

This article is about the philosophical position. For other uses, see Libertarianism (disambiguation).
The task of the metaphysical libertarian is to reconcile free will with indeterminism.

Libertarianism is one of the main philosophical positions related to the problems of free will and determinism which are part of the larger domain of metaphysics.[1] In particular, libertarianism is an incompatibilist position[2][3] which argues that free will is logically incompatible with a deterministic universe. Libertarianism states that since agents have free will, determinism must be false and vice versa.[4]

One of the first clear formulations of libertarianism is found in John Duns Scotus. In a theological context, metaphysical libertarianism was notably defended by Jesuit authors like Luis de Molina and Francisco Suárez against the rather compatibilist Thomist Bañecianism. Other important metaphysical libertarians in the early modern period were René Descartes, George Berkeley, Immanuel Kant and Thomas Reid.[5]

Roderick Chisholm was a prominent defender of libertarianism in the 20th century[6] and contemporary libertarians include Robert Kane, Geert Keil, Peter van Inwagen and Robert Nozick.

  1. ^ Strawson, Galen (1998, 2004). Free will Archived 2007-08-25 at the Wayback Machine. In E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge. Retrieved July 31, 2009
  2. ^ Strawson, Galen (1998, 2004). Free will (section 2) Archived 2009-09-23 at the Wayback Machine. In E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge. Retrieved July 31, 2009. "These anti-compatibilists or incompatibilists divide into two groups: the libertarians and the no-freedom theorists or pessimists about free will and moral responsibility."
  3. ^ Timpe, Kevin (2006) Free Will Archived 2009-05-08 at the Wayback Machine in Feiser, J and Dowden, B (Eds.) 'Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'. Retrieved on July 31, 2009 "Other incompatibilists think that the actual world is not deterministic and that at least some of the agents in the actual world have free will. These incompatibilists are referred to as "libertarians" [see Kane (2005), particularly chapters 3 and 4]."
  4. ^ Strawson, Galen (1998, 2004). Free will (section 2) Archived 2009-09-23 at the Wayback Machine. In E. Craig (Ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge. Retrieved July 31, 2009. "[Libertarians] hold (1) that we do have free will, (2) that free will is incompatible with determinism, and (3) that determinism is therefore false."
  5. ^ Shaun Nichols. "The Rise of Compatibilism: A Case Study in the Quantitative History of Philosophy" (PDF). pp. 8–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  6. ^ Dennett, Daniel C. (2004). Freedom Evolves. Penguin. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-101-57266-5.