Question Believing that once all factors have weighed in the construction of any individual (genetic disposition, cultural programming, the expectations of family and friends, the influences of the magazines on your coffee table...) that free will and freedom of choice are nothing but a comforting delusion, could anyone point me to a philosopher I might study who shares this thought?

Accepted:
February 17, 2006

Comments

The view you're expressing--that everything about us is caused byexternal factors, and that this rules out the possibility of free willand moral responsibility--is often referred to as hard determinism. One classic defense of this view can be found in The System of Natureby Baron d'Holbach, a leading figure of the French Enlightenment. For amore contemporary and scientific defense of the view that free will isan illusion (albeit one written by a psychologist rather than aphilosopher), try Daniel Wegner's The Illusion of Conscious Will.

Hopefullyyou're also interested in reading the views of philosophers whotake a different approach to this vexing problem. If that is indeed thecase, you might want to investigate one of the many wonderfulcollections of essays on the subject. My favorite is Free Will, edited by Gary Watson for the Oxford Readings in Philosophy series. The similarly named volume edited by Robert Kane for the Blackwell Readings in Philosophy series is also excellent.