Instigator / Pro
4
1546
rating
7
debates
57.14%
won
Topic
#3230

THBT Free will, not determinism, is, on balance, the best explanation for man’s active interaction with the universe

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
0
6
Better sources
0
4
Better legibility
2
2
Better conduct
2
2

After 2 votes and with 10 points ahead, the winner is...

Benjamin
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
3
Time for argument
One week
Max argument characters
10,000
Voting period
One month
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
14
1777
rating
79
debates
76.58%
won
Description

Note: this is a duplicate subject to debate #3211, which I proposed, and was accepted by Duel, but then my opponent forfeited the first two rounds, violating two rules: one forfeited round yields a loss, and no new argument in the last round. This debate is still active, but, by rule, cannot have the opponents third round include new argument, so, in effect, that debate is over by default. I wish to re-engage it with a willing opponent, if any.

The question of our free will, also referred to as the dilemma of determinism, is a combative idea that some claim cannot be solved, though philosophy has attempted to do so over millennia. This is the thrust of this challenge. My BoP will champion free will as humanity’s guiding principle in all social interactions in particular, if not also by inter-personal reflection.
“Also called the dilemma of determinism, we do not know if our actions are controlled by a causal chain of preceding events (or by some other external influence), or if we're truly free agents making decisions of our own volition.”
By declaring the dilemma to be addressed to the “universe,” I mean by that to demonstrate that free will is the process by which we interact with all other persons and things about us. If it has affect or influence on us, individually or collectively, we are not compelled to respond by external force, but ultimately by our personal, collective will. This is true whether free or enslaved. If the latter, we may cave to our oppression, or, we may combat it, even at the risk of life. That is the ultimate expression of free will; to risk life and limb.
BoP is shared.
A forfeit of any round is a loss.
No new arguments in final round
Definitions:
Free will – or free agency: Each person’s decision to think and act by response to external, universal stimuli by freedom of choice, regardless of potential reaction by external forces.
Determinism: Each person is controlled by an external, causal force of preceding events.
On balance best explanation: free will is the more probable, or greater than 50%, means by which we respond to external forces upon us.
Interaction: mutual reaction to stimuli; we and the universe.
Universe: All external forces/stimuli acting upon us, individually or collectively.

Criterion
Pro
Tie
Con
Points
Better arguments
3 point(s)
Better sources
2 point(s)
Better legibility
1 point(s)
Better conduct
1 point(s)
Reason:

RFd in comments

https://www.debateart.com/debates/3230/comment-links/40137

Criterion
Pro
Tie
Con
Points
Better arguments
3 point(s)
Better sources
2 point(s)
Better legibility
1 point(s)
Better conduct
1 point(s)
Reason:

Pro states: Newton’s Third law of Motion [Action & Reaction] supports the idea of free will, and is contrary to the idea of determinism.
The third law of motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This can be observed both in objects at rest and those that are accelerating. As Con states, this has nothing to do with the physics of thought, so it is an invalid statement. It is purely an opinion.
The idea that human beings trick themselves into believing in free will was laid out in a paper by psychologists Dan Wegner and Thalia Wheatley nearly 20 years ago. They proposed the feeling of wanting to do something was real, but there may be no connection between the feeling and actually doing it.
A new study undertaken by Adam Bear and Paul Bloom, of Yale University, builds on that work and says that the brain rewrites history when it makes its choices, changing our memories so that we believe we wanted to do something before it happened.
Pro has not shown the validity of free will, so the premise that free will, not determinism, is, on balance, the best explanation for man’s active interaction with the universe is not valid.