Objectives for Quiz 8

You should be able to answer the following essay questions:

1. Explain the difference between hard and soft determinism.

2. Explain Sartre’s notion bad faith. Give at least one example.

3. Explain the libertarian critique of soft determinism.

4. You're driving to school on Highway 85 at 8:30 AM. You have a 9:00 class. The radio DJ says there's a back-up farther up 85. You know this back-up will make you late for class. You also know another route, and taking the alternative route would get you to class on time. You want to be on time for class. So you get off Highway 85 and go the other way. How would a hard determinist analyze your choice to go the other way? Would your decision be free or not free, and why? What would a soft determinist say? What would an indeterminist say? What would an existentialist say?

5. Soft determinism has been adopted by many famous philosophers, including Descartes and Hume. What is soft determinism (be precise) and what are its chief weaknesses?

6. What would Sartre say about hard and soft determinism?