One of the insights to emerge clearly from Geisler and Feinberg's book Introduction to Philosophy is that the many seemingly different subjects of inquiry in philosophy are inter-related and that how one views, say, epistemology colors how one feels about the nature of moral philosophy. The issues involved in the philosophy of religion are also related to the broad questions analyzed in other types of philosophy and do not stand as separate, though discussions of these specific issues may often seem to be viewed as if they did stand alone. One of the issues that has been addressed by philosophers is the issue of free will, meaning whether human beings have freedom to choose their own actions or have those actions determined for them. This is an issue that is key for many issues facing us in philosophy and in everyday life. We hear a good deal of discussion of late about personal responsibility. Those accused in a court of law may often resort to various forms of determinism in explaining and even exonerating their actions, and the public has become disillusioned by claims that a person's crimes might have been caused by child abuse, stress, junk food, television, or whatever other outside influence is blamed as the determining factor:
One of the most important and yet controversial philosophical questions that we must face is the issue of free will. Again, it should be emphasized that morality, law, religion, as well as metaphysics all have a stake in our answer.
We assume that we have free will and that we are responsible for our actions, but are we? Various philosophers have considered this question, as have specialists in other disciplines such as psychology and law. An examination of some of the approaches taken to the issue will not decide once and for all whether man has free will, but it does show the nature of the issues involved and how they relate to our everyday decisions. Indeed, an analysis also shows that...