Ultimate Freedom: Beyond Free Will

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Keith Lehrer (Regents Professor Emeritus, Active Research Professor, Regents Professor Emeritus, Active Research Professor, Center for the Philosophy of Freedom University of Arizona)

Ultimate Freedom

Beyond Free Will

Keith Lehrer (Regents Professor Emeritus, Active Research Professor, Regents Professor Emeritus, Active Research Professor, Center for the Philosophy of Freedom University of Arizona)

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English

Oxford University Press Inc
01 February 2024

Philosophy: metaphysics & ontology; Behavioural economics

Philosopher Keith Lehrer outlines a view of freedom of choice based on a Kahneman-derived distinction between what he calls a first order system that is intuitive and immediate, and a higher order system of response, which he calls a second system of scientific analysis. Lehrer argues that freedom of choice is an expression of attention to the higher order system, and that what is often called free will is often just doing what you desire, a response that neglects consideration of other options. Freedom of choice acknowledges those options, and preference among them forms in response to the acceptance of evidence. We might suppose that in responding to beliefs that one has attended to evidence, but that is a delusion, because our higher order acceptance of evidence can be overwhelmed by the fixation created by first level belief.

What is the difference between just doing what you desire because it feels good and acting on what you prefer because of scientific acceptance? Lehrer points to a form of preference that he says is the ultimate explanation of choice -- what he calls a power preference. It is a preference that loops back on to itself, a fixed-point vector, and suffices to explain choice. Lehrer's theory of such a power preference includes scientific explanation and consistently accommodates determinism. It is itself a scientific and philosophical explanation, and an ultimate principle of explanation. Lehrer terms the freedom of choice expressing that preference

By: Keith Lehrer (Regents Professor Emeritus Active Research Professor Regents Professor Emeritus Active Research Professor Center for the Philosophy of Freedom University of Arizona)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 150mm, Width: 203mm, Spine: 33mm
Weight: 318g
ISBN: 9780197695029
ISBN 10: 0197695027
Pages: 184
Publication Date: 01 February 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1: Preference, Reason and Agency Chapter 2: Freedom of Choice: Source and Leeway Chapter 3: Reason, Preference and Freedom Chapter 4: Determinism, Ultimate Preference and Consistency Chapter 5: Freedom of Choice and Conflict Resolution Chapter 6: Ultimate Preference for Accepting a World Epilogue Bibliography Appendix: On Keith Lehrer's Conception of a Power Preference By Carl Wagner

Keith Leherer is Regents Professor Emeritus and Active Research Professor at the Center for the Philosophy of Freedom, University of Arizona. He is the author of 9 books, 209 articles, and the editor or co-editor of 11 others. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences