Instruction
Question [1]: Of the three existential philosophers: Kierkegaard, Nietzsche or Sartre, which one of their existential ideas captured your interest most, and why?
What the existentialist philosophers most oppose is the idea of determinism (there's no free will). But watch this video: The dark side of free will | Gregg Caruso | TEDxChemungRiver:
Question [2]: Consider the question of Gregg Caruso from the following TedTalk video: “What would happen if we gave up the belief in free will?” Listen to the video on the “Dark Side of Free Will”. What do you think about his argument? What do you think about his point that belief in “free will” goes very closely with the notion of punitiveness and the so-called just-world belief? Is he right that the U.S. is a very punitive society and that it is connected with our notion of free will? What do you think about his proposal for dealing with those who do terrible crimes?
Watch this video: Physicist Michio Kaku on Why Physics Ends the Free Will Debate:
Question [3]: Consider the observation of Michio Kaku about the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and how he argues that it does or should end the debate about determinism because is shows that God does play dice with the universe. What does that mean as you understand it? If the uncertainty principle means we cannot predict what will happen for sure because determinism is wrong, does that mean even a God could not know the future because it’s opened ended? What would that mean for human life and our decisions? And you believe that God makes promises about the future, could God also be wrong about the future if the future is always uncertain? What do you think? Do you find this notion of free will comforting and/or liberating, or do you find it depressing or some other kind of negative?