Do We Have Free Will? : A Debate

233 Pages·2021·1.481 MB·English

by  Robert Kane, Carolina Sartorio, Saul Smilansky

“This superb introduction to free will is highly accessible without
paying the price in over-simplifi cation. The debate format does
a wonderful job of highlighting the pros and cons of Kane’s and
Sartorio’s competing positions on free will. Ideal for an undergraduate
course on free will.”
Alfred R. Mele , Florida State University, USA
“This is an outstanding book by two of the very top philosophers
working on free will and moral responsibility. They are each perfect
representatives of the best recent developments of two important
positions: libertarianism and compatibilism. The book is clear and
lively, and it is a perfect text for an undergraduate course on these
topics. Highly recommended!”
John Martin Fischer , University of California,
Riverside, USA

Do We Have Free Will?
In this little but profound volume, Robert Kane and Carolina
Sartorio debate a perennial question: Do We Have Free Will?
Kane introduces and defends libertarianism about free will:
free will is incompatible with determinism; we are free; we are not
determined. Sartorio introduces and defends compatibilism about
free will: free will is compatible with determinism; we can be free even
while our actions are determined through and through. Simplifying
tricky terminology and complicated concepts for readers new to the
debate, the authors also cover the latest developments on a controversial
topic that gets us entangled in questions about blameworthiness and
responsibility, coercion and control and much more.
E ach author fi rst presents their own side, and then they interact
through two rounds of objections and replies. Pedagogical features
include standard form arguments, section summaries, bolded key terms
and principles, a glossary and annotated reading lists. Short, lively and
accessible, the debate showcases diverse and cutting-edge work on free
will. As per Saul Smilansky’s foreword, Kane and Sartorio “present
the readers with two things at once: an introduction to the traditional
free will problem and a demonstration of what a great yet very much
alive and relevant philosophical problem is like”.
Key Features
• Covers major concepts, views and arguments about free will in
an engaging format.
• Accessible style and pedagogical features for students and
general readers.
• Cutting-edge contributions by preeminent scholars on free will.
R obert Kane is University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy
and Law Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin, USA. He
is the author of Free Will and Values (1985), Through the Moral
Maze (1993), The Signifi cance of Free Will (1996), A Contemporary
Introduction to Free Will (2005), Ethics and the Quest for Wisdom
(2010); editor of The Oxford Handbook of Free Will (2002, 2011);
and author of more than 80 journal articles.
C arolina Sartorio is Professor of Philosophy at the University of
Arizona, USA. Her research expertise focuses on issues in causation,
agency, free will and moral responsibility. She is the author of
numerous leading research articles in these areas and the book
C ausation and Free Will (2016).
S aul Smilansky is Professor of Philosophy at the University of
Haifa, Israel.
Little Debates About Big Questions
Tyron Goldschmidt
Fellow of the Rutgers Center for Philosophy of Religion, USA
Dustin Crummett
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany
About the series:
Philosophy asks questions about the fundamental nature of real-
ity, our place in the world, and what we should do. Some of these
questions are perennial: for example, Do we have free will? What
is morality? Some are much newer: for example, How far should
free speech on campus extend? Are race, sex and gender social con-
structs? But all of these are among the big questions in philosophy
and they remain controversial.
Each book in the Little Debates About Big Questions series
features two professors on opposite sides of a big question. Each
author presents their own side, and the authors then exchange
objections and replies. Short, lively, and accessible, these debates
showcase diverse and deep answers. Pedagogical features include
standard form arguments, section summaries, bolded key terms and
principles, glossaries, and annotated reading lists.
The debate format is an ideal way to learn about controversial
topics. Whereas the usual essay or book risks overlooking objec-
tions against its own proposition or misrepresenting the opposite
side, in a debate each side can make their case at equal length, and
then present objections the other side must consider. Debates have a
more conversational and fun style too, and we selected particularly
talented philosophers—in substance and style—for these kinds of
encounters.
Debates can be combative—sometimes even descending into
anger and animosity. But debates can also be cooperative. While
our authors disagree strongly, they work together to help each
other and the reader get clearer on the ideas, arguments, and objec-
tions. This is intellectual progress, and a much-needed model for
civil and constructive disagreement.
T he substance and style of the debates will captivate inter-
ested readers new to the questions. But there’s enough to interest
experts too. The debates will be especially useful for courses in
philosophy and related subjects—whether as primary or secondary
readings—and a few debates can be combined to make up the read-
ing for an entire course.
W e thank the authors for their help in constructing this series.
We are honored to showcase their work. They are all preeminent
scholars or rising-stars in their fi elds, and through these debates
they share what’s been discovered with a wider audience. This is a
paradigm for public philosophy, and will impress upon students,
scholars, and other interested readers the enduring importance of
debating the big questions.
Published Titles:
Do We Have Free Will?
A Debate
Robert Kane and Carolina Sartorio
Is There a God?
A Debate
Kenneth L. Pearce and Graham Oppy
Is Political Authority an Illusion?
A Debate
Michael Huemer and Daniel Layman
Selected Forthcoming Titles:
Consequentialism or Virtue Ethics?
A Debate
Jorge L.A. Garcia and Alastair Norcross
Are We Made of Matter?
A Debate
Eric T. Olson and Aaron Segal
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.
routledge.com/Little-Debates-about-Big-Questions/book-series/
LDABQ
Do We Have Free Will?
A Debate
Robert Kane and Carolina
Sartorio
With a Foreword by Saul
Smilansky
First published 2022
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Robert Kane and Carolina Sartorio
The right of Robert Kane and Carolina Sartorio to be identified as
the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance
with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kane, Robert, 1938– author. | Sartorio, Carolina, author.
Title: Do we have free will?: a debate/Robert Kane and Carolina
Sartorio; with a foreword by Saul Smilansky.
Description: New York, NY: Routledge, 2022.
Series: Little debates about big questions | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021014463 (print) | LCCN 2021014464 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Free will and determinism. Classification: LCC
BJ1461 .K3654 2022 (print) | LCC BJ1461 (ebook) | DDC
123/.5—dc23
LC record available at h ttps://lccn.loc.gov/2021014463
LC ebook record available at h ttps://lccn.loc.gov/2021014464
ISBN: 978-0-367-25833-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-25832-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-21217-1 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003212171
Typeset in Sabon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Foreword xiii
SAUL SMILANSKY
Opening Statements 1
1 The Problem of Free Will: A Libertarian
Perspective 3
ROBERT KANE
Introduction: An Ancient Problem with Modern
Signifi cance 4
1. Modern Debates and Views 5
2. The Compatibility Question: Alternative
Possibilities and Ultimate Responsibility 9
3. Self-forming Actions 12
4. Freedom of Action and Freedom of Will:
AP and UR 13
5. Plurality Conditions and Plural Voluntary
Control 15
6. Will-Setting and Self-formation 18
7. The Compatibility Question Revisited: Free
Will and Moral Responsibility 19
8. Fair Opportunity to Avoid Wrongdoing:
Hart and Others 21
9. Reactive Attitudes, Criminal Trials and
Transference of Responsibility 23