关于意志自由的讲座(伦特学期,1941年)

Lectures on Freedom of the Will(Lent Term 1941)

人类行为与自然法则关系的哲学表述会产生不少观念上的混淆,这需要通过分析相关语句的意义与使用来澄清。如果主张人们的行为是由自然法则决定的,那就不能说一个人的行为是自由的,因为决定论背后的“强迫”观念是荒谬的,它不符合大多数人的生活常识;如果主张人类还有意志自由,那么谈论自然法则就是混淆的。在人类自主行动中谈不上自然法则与规律性,对人类行为和选择具有重要意义的是负责任或不负责任;但这并不主张非决定论的观点,也不是对意志的自由辩护或反对,而是提醒人们认识到,这些表述其实与看待人类行为的特定视角有关。

Philosophical formulations of the relationship between human behavior and the laws of nature create a great deal of conceptual confusion,which needs to be clarified by analyzing the meaning and use of the relevant statements?If it is claimed that people’s behavior is determined by the laws of nature,then it cannot be said that a person’s behavior is free,because the idea of“coercion”behind the determinism is absurd,and it is not in line with the common sense of most people’s lives;if it is claimed that human beings still have the freedom of will,then talking about the laws of nature is confusing?There are no natural laws or regularities in autonomous human action,and what matters for human behavior and choices is responsibility or irresponsibility;but this is not an argument for a non-deterministic view,nor is it a defense of,or opposition to,freedom of the will,but rather a reminder of the fact that these formulations are in fact related to a particular lens through which human behavior is viewed?