Skip to content
Carmelics
TopicsThinkersChangesContributorsLoading account…

    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

    Navigate

    • Topics
    • Search
    • Recent Changes
    • Contribute
    • How It Works
    • Glossary
    • Thinkers
    • Contributors
    • About
    • Statistics
    • Terms
    • Privacy

    Database

    Statements
    —
    Perspectives
    —
    Topics
    —

    Press ? for keyboard shortcuts

    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Home/Original/inverse
    See Original
    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Freedom of choice distinguishes humans from animals

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Hard determinists from Spinoza to contemporary neuroscientists like Benjamin Libet argue that human deliberation is itself causally determined by prior neural and environmental states.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If human 'choice' is merely a phenomenological illusion produced by complex deterministic mechanisms, then the difference between humans and animals is one of computational complexity, not a categorical freedom.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Rousseau's argument presupposes libertarian free will without establishing the metaphysical grounds that would distinguish genuine self-determination from sophisticated stimulus-response processing.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Empirical ethology demonstrates that many non-human animals exhibit behavioral flexibility, tool use, and learned cultural variation that transcends fixed instinctual programming.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If freedom of choice is operationalized as the capacity to override instinct and adapt behavior through learning, then the purported distinguishing criterion applies to numerous animal species.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Animals are mechanisms programmed to a fixed pattern of behavior
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Human beings are not tied to any particular mode of life and can reject the promptings of instinct
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.