The Two-Stage Model of Free Will
If we are determined, we are not free.
If our actions are random, we are not responsible.
Philosophers Think Free Will Acts at a Moment
The Temporal Sequence of first Free, then Will
Most philosophers and scientists are compatibilists, who want their actions to be caused by their reasons, motives, feelings, etc. and not be random. They think free will is compatible with determinism. In the two-stage model, ontological chance or indeterminism of quantum mechanics is limited to the free generation of alternative possibilities. In the second stage, the evaluation of alternatives is an adequately (statistically) determined process that leads to a willed act of self-determination. This should be all that a compatibilist could want. It adds the fact that our actions are not pre-determined from moments before the decision process begins.
| From Information to Semiosis | | U C Berkeley, 19-21 June 2015 | | Bob Doyle | | The Information Philosopher |