Outline on the Free Will Argument
The Free Will Argument (There is Free Choice) I. Introduction a. Attention Gatherer: Nothing is completely random, and everything is determined, as the determinist would say, but as humans, there is such a thing as self determinism. Each action has a cause, it is not random, and it is rational, but it is also a choice. Each individual can choose to do a multitude of things, and thus the actions are free, and they are not wholly predictable, but they are not wholly unpredictable either. b. Thesis: Free Will is Free Choice. c. Summary: i. Premise 1: God knows every choice a person can and will make, because he is omniscient, but he does not force the individual to make the choice. ii. Premise 2: The Denial that actions can be free is self defeating. iii. Premise 3: An individual’s subjectivity transcends his or her objectivity. d. Not every part of a human being can be analyzed under a microscope. A person’s individual reason and rational decision making abilities can be predicted but never known for sure except in the all knowing omniscience of God. II. Body e. Transition: It was predestined that the group would speak on the arguments of free will, but the group indeed had the ability to choose from other topics. Predestination only means that it is known by a completely free and omniscient being what we will decide throughout life. f. Main Points iv. Premise 1: 1. Reformed self determinism states that every action in life is a choice guided by the free will of an individual. 2. Though there are some cases that an individual did not choose, such as the environment he or she is born into, that is an outward and objective occurrence, and does not disprove the ability for that individual to see multiple paths to take and to choose one over the other. v. Premise 2 3. Determinists will say that Self-determinist philosophers