Federman, Asaf. (2010) What kind of free will did the Buddha teach? Philosophy East and West, Vol.60 (No.1). ISSN 0031-8221

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Abstract

The modern version of the problem of free will is usually described as a collision between two beliefs: the belief that we are free to choose our actions and the belief that our actions are determined by prior necessary causes. Determinism—the view that events are determined by specific causes—makes most aspects of reality intelligible. It works quite well, for example, when explaining aspects of the natural world (quantum physics aside). When heat, fuel, and oxygen come together there is fire. There must be fire. To borrow a famous Buddhist simile, when a mango seed is given the right conditions, it will grow to become a mango tree. It cannot grow to be anything else. However, we do not usually think of agents as being caused in the same way. We tend to think that agents somehow transcend natural causation by their ability to choose freely. If we also think that agents are part of the natural order, we face a paradox. This is, in short, the problem of free will.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BQ Buddhism B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics
Divisions:	Faculty of Science > Psychology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Gautama Buddha -- Teachings, Free will and determinism -- Religious aspects -- Buddhism, Buddhism -- Doctrines
Journal or Publication Title:	Philosophy East and West
Publisher:	University of Hawaii Press
ISSN:	0031-8221
Date:	January 2010
Volume:	Vol.60
Number:	No.1
Identification Number:	10.1353/pew.0.0086
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/3142

Data sourced from Thomson Reuters' Web of Knowledge

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