Clarke's Defense of the Contrast Argument
Dialectica 65 (2):267-275 (2011)
| Abstract | In his (2004), Randolph Clarke assesses an important version of an influential argument against libertarianism about metaphysical freedom. Clarke calls the anti-libertarian argument he evaluates the Contrast Argument. It targets the following claim: there could be an undetermined free act done by S such that S would have freely done something else had S not done the act in question. This modal claim will be endorsed not only by proponents of main brands of libertarianism, but also by action theorists of other stripes – including many compatibilists. Clarke aims to defend the Contrast Argument from a prominent objection by developing a novel case for the premise under attack. I show that Clarke's attempted defense of the Contrast Argument fails, thereby protecting the relevant libertarian and compatibilist positions. In brief, Clarke's argument depends on an ambiguous principle, each available reading of which leaves some or other premise of his argument unjustified | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,875 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesMichael Anthony Istvan (2011). Concerning the Resilience of Galen Strawson's Basic Argument. Philosophical Studies 155 (3):399-420.
E. J. Coffman (2011). How (Not) to Attack the Luck Argument. Philosophical Explorations 13 (2):157-166.
Jason Turner (2009). The Incompatibility of Free Will and Naturalism. Australasian Journal of Philosophy 87 (4):565-587.
Seyed Hassan Hosseini (2011). A Comparative Study on the Degree of Dependence of Clarke's and Sadra's Arguments for the Existence of God on the Principle of Sufficient Reason. Hekmat Va Falsafeh 6 (24):53 - 68.
Michael Wenisch (2010). The Epistemological Roots of the Dispute Over Time and Freedom in the Leibniz-Clarke Correspondence. International Philosophical Quarterly 50 (2):201-220.
Brian Ribeiro (2006). Clarke and Stroud on the Plane-Spotters. Southwest Philosophy Review 22 (1):25-32.
Alicia Finch & Ted A. Warfield (1998). The Mind Argument and Libertarianism. Mind 107 (427):515-28.
Manuel Vargas (2004). Libertarianism and Skepticism About Free Will: Some Arguments Against Both. Philosophical Topics 32 (1&2):403-26.
Markus E. Schlosser (forthcoming). The Luck Argument Against Event-Causal Libertarianism: It is Here to Stay. Philosophical Studies:1-11.
Peter van Inwagen (2009). Some Remarks on the Modal Ontological Argument. Philo 12 (2):217-227.
Alicia Finch (forthcoming). Against Libertarianism. Philosophical Studies.
Samuel Clarke (1998). A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God and Other Writings. Cambridge University Press.
James Hardy (1996). Burdens of Proof. Journal of Philosophical Research 21:321-330.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2011-03-19Total downloads17 ( #72,089 of 556,896 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #64,931 of 556,896 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
