Synonyms
Definition
The ability of rational agents to act out of self-determination; to select actions from a broad set of possible alternatives based on rational expectations of their consequences.
Introduction
Daniel Clement Dennett, an American philosopher and cognitive scientist from Tufts University, is one of the most influential living thinkers on the topic of free will. According to Dennett, free will is an “ability to see probable futures – futures that seem like they’re going to happen – in time to take steps so that something else happens instead” (Closer to Truth 2014).
Dennett’s view on free will falls under the umbrella of compatibilism, which holds that free will is compatible with determinism. Whether the universe is deterministic or indeterministic, Dennett claims, has no practical implications for concepts of moral responsibility and is therefore irrelevant to the question of whether or not an agent has free will. He has argued extensively...
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References
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Bowen, D. (2018). Daniel Dennett on Free Will. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2168-1
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