Title: 
Headings: Class Four: Soft Determinism and Indeterminism
Class Four: Soft Determinism and Indeterminism
Soft Determinism (also called Compatibilism and Self-determinism):
Indeterminism
William James: Pragmatism

Content: In addition, current theoretical physics recognizes that subatomic events occur in completely random and (in principle) unpredictable ways. Since not every event is predictable, and since a completely caused  (determined) event would be predictable, not every event is caused. Such indeterminacy opens up the possibility that we can really affect the future; and in this way we can be free and morally responsible. Objections : (1) Indeterminism undermines the whole scientific effort to explain nature and human beings, and it makes such an effort a waste of time insofar as it does not guarantee that understanding human behavior will allow us to improve it. (2) If choices and actions are not determined even by one's personality or character, then a so-called "free" act would be one that occurs spontaneously and unpredictably (even to the person doing it); thus no one could justifiably be held responsible for doing an action which not even he/she could have predicted would occur. Pure chance is thus not freedom. William James: