Showing posts with label free will. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free will. Show all posts

February 17, 2026

The Argument from Reason (Part 3)

I have said that there are four versions of the argument from reason that, taken together, push me toward theism. The first argument establishes the reality of selves, persons, conscious states, and thoughts, while the second argument establishes the reality of free will. These two conclusions point in the direction of a third claim about the reality of mental causes, but the reality of mental causes is also independently supported by another version of the argument from reason.

February 12, 2026

The Argument from Reason (Part 2)

The argument from reason begins with the fact that we are capable of making valid logical inferences, and then it aims to show that this fact is incompatible with some underlying assumption of atheism. There are four such arguments that, taken together, push me toward theism. The first, already discussed in a previous post, is an argument against a specific type of atheism called eliminative materialism. That version of the argument justifies a realist view of selves, persons, conscious states, and thoughts.

The second argument from reason is not aimed at atheism per se. Rather, it is aimed at an idea that is embraced by many theists and atheists alike: determinism. Thus, this second argument from reason is an argument for free will. It is an important part of my rejection of atheism because most atheist philosophers affirm determinism on the grounds that free will (or at least, the non-determinist version of free will) is very hard to make sense of on an atheistic view of reality, and I happen to think that they are right. So if determinism is false, that poses a significant challenge to atheism.