Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

has a definite cause and that if something is deterministic, then all the causes are likewise the effects of other
causes. If our decision making must have a cause, then it is impossible to do otherwise. Our action would be
caused by our decision, but our decision would also be caused and so on. To do otherwise would be to defy
causation which is impossible according to determinism.
Is it possible to have freedom in an indeterminist world? To this the answer is no. Freedom and
indeterminism are inconsistent as well. Indeterminism is the idea that everything does not have a definite
cause. Instead, a cause may have a number of possible effects. If this were true, we would not be able to
actualize what we wanted. Instead, our choice would be the result of something purely random. If each
choice is possible, in choosing one we neglect the possibility of a different one. In a truly indeterministic
situation, we may choose one thing, and at an equal chance, we may choose something else. If this was the
case, our choices would not be up to us, but instead to some (metaphorical) role of the dice. We could not
do otherwise, because we have lost control of our doing. Probability would rule our actions.
I have essentially corroborated van Inwagen up to this point (Kane). I will argue against van
Inwagen’s “opinion” that there is a problem with his analysis, but I want to dig a little deeper into causation
first. Besides being deterministic or indeterministic, it may also be possible that the world is nondeterministic—something
which van Inwagen does not address. I will discuss four possible non-determistic
worlds and conclude that they are inconsistent with our world (though admittedly, some are possible in
theory).
The first non-deterministic world is where the possibility of decision-making processes take place
with neither causes nor effects. This obviously does not describe our world, because decision making
involves change. It would be impossible to see the result of change without seeing some kind of effect. A
product involves a process, and a new state of affairs comes about as an effect. It would be strange to
believe that a free choice could be made without effects at the very least. Thus a second possibility, a
decision making process with only causes and no effects must also be impossible.
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