A Discretionary Case for Preservationism about Free Will
How does the term ‘free will’ refer? This question seems to lie at the center of debates about whether the attitudes and practices that depend on our successful attributions of basic-desert-entailing moral responsibility ought to be preserved or eliminated. In this paper I tackle questions about th...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Associazione Culturale Humana.Mente
2022-12-01
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Series: | Humana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies |
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Online Access: | https://www.humanamente.eu/index.php/HM/article/view/407 |
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author | Kelly McCormick |
author_facet | Kelly McCormick |
author_sort | Kelly McCormick |
collection | DOAJ |
description |
How does the term ‘free will’ refer? This question seems to lie at the center of debates about whether the attitudes and practices that depend on our successful attributions of basic-desert-entailing moral responsibility ought to be preserved or eliminated. In this paper I tackle questions about the way that different reference-fixing conventions might inform disagreement between preservationists and eliminativists about free will and moral responsibility, and argue that even recent elimination-friendly work on reference fails to offer much real support for eliminativism. In fact, making explicit the role that different motivating concerns play in rendering certain reference-fixing conventions operative for eliminativists and preservationists suggests at least one powerful reference-based argument in favor of preservationism.
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first_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:35:30Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-23c7da6a77cd4dfba13d918f8a18c3a8 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1972-1293 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-11T04:35:30Z |
publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
publisher | Associazione Culturale Humana.Mente |
record_format | Article |
series | Humana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies |
spelling | doaj.art-23c7da6a77cd4dfba13d918f8a18c3a82022-12-28T14:59:57ZengAssociazione Culturale Humana.MenteHumana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies1972-12932022-12-011542A Discretionary Case for Preservationism about Free WillKelly McCormick0Texas Christian University How does the term ‘free will’ refer? This question seems to lie at the center of debates about whether the attitudes and practices that depend on our successful attributions of basic-desert-entailing moral responsibility ought to be preserved or eliminated. In this paper I tackle questions about the way that different reference-fixing conventions might inform disagreement between preservationists and eliminativists about free will and moral responsibility, and argue that even recent elimination-friendly work on reference fails to offer much real support for eliminativism. In fact, making explicit the role that different motivating concerns play in rendering certain reference-fixing conventions operative for eliminativists and preservationists suggests at least one powerful reference-based argument in favor of preservationism. https://www.humanamente.eu/index.php/HM/article/view/407Free WillEliminativismPreservationism |
spellingShingle | Kelly McCormick A Discretionary Case for Preservationism about Free Will Humana.Mente: Journal of Philosophical Studies Free Will Eliminativism Preservationism |
title | A Discretionary Case for Preservationism about Free Will |
title_full | A Discretionary Case for Preservationism about Free Will |
title_fullStr | A Discretionary Case for Preservationism about Free Will |
title_full_unstemmed | A Discretionary Case for Preservationism about Free Will |
title_short | A Discretionary Case for Preservationism about Free Will |
title_sort | discretionary case for preservationism about free will |
topic | Free Will Eliminativism Preservationism |
url | https://www.humanamente.eu/index.php/HM/article/view/407 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT kellymccormick adiscretionarycaseforpreservationismaboutfreewill AT kellymccormick discretionarycaseforpreservationismaboutfreewill |