The Agent Causality Theory Of Free Will - 1540 Words

1. The agent-causality theory of free will is the theory that agents can start new causal chains that are not pre-determined by the events of the immediate or distant past and the physical laws of nature. Chisholm argues that the agent causes free actions, and that actions are self-determined, making them agent-caused. The theory states that we can bundle together all of an individual’s emotions, aspirations, dispositions, personality traits and we can then consider that the person’s character. Then this character has a great deal of influence on an individual’s decision. According to agent causation, there is another key factor: the self. The self stands apart from the individual’s character and it can either go along with the character or resist the character. The relation between an agent and an action cannot be reduced to or fully explained by the usual kind of causation, meaning that our actions are instances of direct causation by an agent. Reid deve lops the theory of Agent Causation. We have the power to initiate new causal chains. Agents have the power to cause something without being the effect of something previously. Reid thinks that we would not be able to formulate the doctrine of causal determinism if it were not for the experience we have of causing our decisions, and thus, this is where the idea of agent causation comes from. According to Reid, the notion of causation that determinism counts on is itself, grounded in our own experience of ourShow MoreRelatedWhat Is Determinism, Libertarianism, And Compatibilism1161 Words   |  5 Pagesmauled over mankind s free will and its connects to moral responsibility. In such discussion they have come up with multiple theories. The three I’ll address today are determinism, libertarianism, and compatibilism; are we products of our past unable to choose another course, or are our actions free from the chain of causality and thus our own? 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