Does free will exist? (Page 3)

DIAMONDfire
DIAMONDfire: in my view determinism polarises free will, so it is free will that requires a philosophical solution.
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DIAMONDfire
DIAMONDfire: For example the act of letting something go something important must be an act of free will, and that is an example of the power of morality in the sense of free will existing. Vastly different from deciding what to have for dinner, perhaps a mystery? But evidently morality is not something easily arrived at, it can't be taken lightly.
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Lexielex777
Lexielex777: I think within the Christian world free will must exist to enable individuals to choose whether they will join Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader.
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Adam Southworth
Adam Southworth: Some people have argued that the concept of free will emerged from the Christian faith. I found evidence for libertarian free will in chapter 43 of the First Apology of the church father Justin Martyr. To paraphrase his case:

"...if fate decrees that this man is to be good and this other man evil, neither the former is praiseworthy, nor the latter blameworthy...only by free will does man act rightly or wrongfully."

The philosopher Karl Marx used determinism to argue for the injustice of capitalist societies. If a person had no choice, why hold them responsible? People are fashioned by the order of society to behave as they do. Thus, we should change society rather than punish the criminal.

On the other hand, there have been people like the ancient Greeks who thought fate and justice were consistent, so perhaps free will is unnecessary for moral responsibility. Some legal systems already take the criminal's state of mind into account.

I don't believe the Marxist/anarchist argument that society creates the lion's share of criminals. In the absence of free will, I suspect we would still need punishment to protect the community, deter criminals and perhaps even channel people's sense of justice.
(Edited by Adam Southworth)
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