Lightning flashes. But is there a lightning doing the flashing? Or is it a single process? And similarly, when ‘you choose’ is there a ‘you’ ‘choosing’, or is this again one process? Nietzsche argues free will is an illusion. Lightning flashing is one process, and so are you. Free will is an invention created to make us feel guilty and deserving of punishment. Writes Alexandre Fillon.In a famous passage from the Critique of Practical Reason [1], Kant aims to show how we can be sure of our free will in ordinary experience. It is not a proper demonstration, since it is impossible to prove freedom empirically, as empiricism is ruled by the determinism of the laws of nature, but rather an example that helps us to understand the relationship between morality and free will. At the same time, Kant’s strategy is to point out the limits of determinism, the position that denies the existence of free will. Let us imagine a hedonist, someone who feels incapable of resis…
Read the full article which is published on IAI TV (external link)
