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An Evaluation of the Concept of Freewill in Robert Kane


Chukwuma, Joseph Nnaemeka, Okechukwu, Chidiebere Peter, Abah George Ohabuenyi, Uche Miriam Okoye, Ezeanya, Chioma Winifred, Okoro, Charles Kenechukwu
Abstract

The concept of the human freedom/freewill has posited a serious existential, moral and socio-political problem, which attracted reactions from different thinkers, community, and schools of thought. Thinkers have in different ways explored the concept of human freedom/freewill. The discourse of this subject matter strolls across cultures and thoughts, each individual from the perspective of his own confines and culture reflects on what it means to have freedom or freewill. As a result, Robert Kane, who is known as the dean the libertarian thinkers, has articulated his thoughts on the dilemma of freewill. Some thinkers have claimed that there is nothing like the freewill problem. Coming on board, Kane thoughts that there exists the problem of freewill and went further to counter the discourse of the conventional libertarians. He develops a freewill view that even though countless number of the human acts could determine are many of our actions are determined by our hitherto nature, those acts could be free. He envisages the possibility of this by what he called the Self Forming Actions (SFAs), which we ourselves created in the past. In his book Freewill and Values, Kane focuses on free options that have ethical importance, as well as those with purely practical importance. He maintains two points form of free will as relevant to useful choices, but thinks something more is needed for moral choices, which are the conditions for his behavior developing. He calls it the SFAs (Self-Forming Actions). According to Kane, an agent needs to things that will make his actions free: the feasibility of judiciously and willingly doing other than what he did (alternate possibilities criterion), and having the final say in what was done (ultimate responsibility criterion). It is against this backdrop that this work will take an out and out Evaluation of the Concept of Freewill in Robert Hilary Kane. This research will deploy the philosophical tools of expository, hermeneutics, analysis and synthesis, to assert that even though Kane takes his discourse on freewill to the metaphysical realm, his idea of ultimate responsibility is not in all cases attainable, even if alternate possibilities are factual.

Volume 11 | 10-Special Issue

Pages: 330-340

DOI: 10.5373/JARDCS/V11SP10/20192809