Du Châtelet’s Libertarianism

History of Philosophy Quarterly 38 (3):219-241 (2022)
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Abstract

There is a growing consensus that Emilie Du Châtelet’s challenging essay “On Freedom” defends compatibilism. I offer an alternative, libertarian reading of the essay. I lay out the prima facie textual evidence for such a reading. I also explain how apparently compatibilist remarks in “On Freedom” can be read as aspects of a sophisticated type of libertarianism that rejects blind or arbitrary choice. To this end, I consider the historical context of Du Châtelet’s essay, and especially the dialectic between various strands of eighteenth-century libertarianism and compatibilism.

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2021

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10.5406/21521026.38.3.02

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Aaron Wells
Paderborn University

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References found in this work

Leviathan.Thomas Hobbes - 1904 - Harmondsworth,: Penguin Books. Edited by C. B. Macpherson.
Kritik der reinen Vernunft.Immanuel Kant - 2010 - Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.
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Intention.G. E. M. Anscombe - 1957 - Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 57:321-332.
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.John Locke - 1979 - Revue Philosophique de la France Et de l'Etranger 169 (2):221-222.

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