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News from the Department of Philosophy
Philosophy Club discusses free will with community
Written by Anna Weinstein
Are human beings free, or are we determined by nature, culture and other factors?
A large crowd gathered at the Gnu's Room in Auburn to discuss this topic on October 7, 2009, with a panel of Philosophy Club members (Kristin Courtney, Ben Pierce and Jared Rehm) and two philosophy professors (Roderick Long and Howard Hewitt). This was the second Philosophy event at the Gnu's Room, which Assistant Professor Keren Gorodeisky organized as part of an outreach effort.
"We wanted to reach out to the community, and invite members of the community to engage in a dialogue with members of our department, people who spend much of their time doing philosophy," Gorodeisky said.
Kristin Courtney, an undergraduate philosophy major who worked with Gorodeisky to arrange the monthly meetings, said, "We wanted to give an opportunity for people in the community to engage in philosophical conversations. Many of us have encountered people who have limited knowledge but infinite interest."
The conversation focused on the philosophical topic of determinism and free will. Is all human action caused entirely by preceding events (determinism)? Is life predetermined by an all-powerful force (fatalism)? Do human beings have freedom of choice, or self-determination (free will)? Or can people make choices that are not determined by physiological or psychological causes (indeterminism)?
"What is at stake?" one audience member wanted to know, "Why is it important to answer these questions?"
These questions seemed to resonate with several community members in the room. "It's a question of framing the issues," said Darryl Scriven, a religion and philosophy professor at Tuskegee. "I lost interest in philosophy in school until it was grounded in something," Scriven said. He emphasized the importance of framing philosophical topics around practical social applications. For example, how does the concept of free will apply to social responsibility? Are all people responsible for their actions? Do individuals with mental illness exercise free will when it comes to behaving responsibly? How does the concept of free will play into determining punishment for a crime?
Courtney summed up the relevance of the conversation this way: "We have this intuition that we have free will. This is a chance for you to see a problem and decide where you stand on it-to exercise your mind and face a difficult problem and say, 'Why is your intuition right? Why do we feel like it's the right way to behave?'"
Next month's topic: the mind-body problem. Join the community for more Philosophy at the Gnu's Room, Wednesday, November 11 at 5 p.m.
Visit the AU Philosophy Department online for more information about the Philosophy Club and conversations that are open to the public, including a discussion following a screening of American Psycho Friday, November 6, and a series of faculty and guest lectures . Gorodeisky emphasizes that philosophers and nonphilosophers alike are welcome to join all events.
Photographs from the Philosophy Club's trip to the '09 Annual Meeting of the Central American Philosophical Association in Chicago are displayed as a photo gallery on the home page . Also take a look at the photo gallery of AU's first Annual Philosophy Conference , created by Philosophy Club member Andy Bass.