Though the article is not primarily concerned with free will or defending free will, it does contain a good comparison between libertarian free will and compatibilism from a top notch and well respected Christian philosopher. While the author does not take the time to argue strongly for his position, he does present the libertarian view of human freedom as far more rational and consistent than the compatibilist view. SEA does not necessarily endorse all of the views expressed in this article. Please click the link below to view the article:
http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1997/PSCF3-97Moreland.html
The author’s abstract of the article:
There has been a growing debate about the proper way to integrate science and theology. On the one side are those who accept a complementarity view of integration and claim that science must presuppose methodological naturalism. On the other side are those who accept some form of theistic science. Central to this debate is the nature of divine and human action and the existence of gaps in the natural causal fabric due to such action that could, in principle, enter into the use of scientific methodology. In this article, I side with the second group. To justify this position, I first state the complementarity view and its implications for the nature of human personhood, second, explain libertarian agency in contrast to compatibilist models of action, and third, show why “gaps are part of divine and human agency and illustrate ways that such a model of agency for certain divine acts could be relevant to the practice of science.
Leave a Reply