Lectures on “Free Will and Determinism” by Kaveh Behbahani

Is the human being a free agent or compelled? Do we choose what we do of our own free will, or is it fated that we act as we do? Are we puppets manipulated by a master puppeteer? For thousands of years, thinkers have grappled with questions of this kind. In the “Free Will and Determinism” course, we will take a look at the various theories that have been offered in response to this question from antiquity to the present day. Although the discussions that will be raised in this course are entirely technical, theoretical, rigorous, and dry, familiarity with these discussions will enhance the critical capacity of thought, and through encountering some of the most intelligent answers to one of the weighty problems of philosophy, the audience will become better acquainted with the process of philosophizing.

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First Series of the “Free Will and Determinism” Lectures:

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Session 1 of the First Series of the “Free Will and Determinism” Lectures | 12 September 2017

Title: Various Conceptions of the Concept of Determinism

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In this session, I will endeavor to speak about the various conceptions of the concept of determinism or the concept of necessity that have existed in the history of thought. I will also speak about determinism and its at least apparent incompatibility with the belief in human free will, and will take a brief look at the various solutions philosophers have proposed for the conflict between free will and determinism. After that, I will turn to mythological-religious conceptions of the concept of necessity and will speak briefly about fate in ancient Greek mythology, the concept of karma in certain Eastern religions, and the conflict of those concepts with the concept of free will.

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Session 2 of the First Series of the “Free Will and Determinism” Lectures | 20 September 2017

Title: Free Will and the Semitic Religions’ Conception of the Concept of Necessity

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In this session, I will speak about the conception of the concept of necessity in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, in which the two concepts of divine providence and divine omniscience are, at least apparently, incompatible with the concept of human free will. In this meeting, we have briefly looked at intra-religious and extra-religious reactions to this conflict.

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Session 3 of the First Series of Lectures on “Free Will and Determinism” | 27 September 2017

Title: Determinism, from the Ancient World to Modern Physics

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The concept of determinism was developed in ancient Greece by atomist philosophers and, in the modern world, became the dominant presupposition of early modern physics. This session is dedicated to discussing ancient conceptions and the modern conception of determinism.

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Session 4 of the First Series of Lectures on “Free Will and Determinism” | 4 October 2017

Title: Libertarianism in the Ancient World and the Middle Ages

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Libertarianism is one of the strategies for resolving the problem of the conflict between free will and determinism. In this session, ancient and medieval formulations of this solution will be discussed.

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Second Series of Lectures on “Free Will and Determinism”:

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Session 1 of the Second Series of Lectures on “Free Will and Determinism” | 18 October 2017

Title: Libertarianism in the Modern World

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In this session, we will address agent-causal theories and the critiques leveled against them.

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Session 2 of the Second Series of Lectures on “Free Will and Determinism” | 25 October 2017

Title: Compatibilism: Ancient and Classical Compatibilists

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In this session, I will address the views of thinkers who believe that the existence of free will in humans is compatible with determinism.

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Session Three of the Second Series of Lectures on “Free Will and Determinism” | 1 November 2017

Title: Contemporary Compatibilism: Harry Frankfurt

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In this session, we will examine the defense of compatibilism by one of the contemporary philosophers and the renowned author of the book On Bullshit, Harry Frankfurt, along with some of the criticisms leveled against it.

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Session Four of the Second Series of Lectures on “Free Will and Determinism” | 8 November 2017

Title: Hard Determinism: Determinism in the Modern World

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In the third session, we spoke about the concept of determinism from the ancient world to the beginning of modern physics. In this session, I will speak about the factors that led modern thinkers to embrace hard determinism and about one of the classic thinkers who advocated this view.

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Kaveh Behbahani (Course Instructor): My conversation with my dear friend Alireza Emtiaz, besides being independently useful, can serve as a summary of the topics raised in the Free Will and Determinism course, which was held several years ago. Given that the course remained unfinished, this conversation can also be heard as the final session of that course.

You can watch this conversation on YouTube or Aparat.

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Lectures on “Free Will and Determinism”

Instructor: Kaveh Behbahani

https://t.me/Sophia_Kaveh

Venue: Arkeh Center for Thought (Shiraz / Ma'ali Abad Bridge / next to Mirza Shirazi Metro Station / Building A (Golestan Cinema Campus) / 8th Floor / Unit 806)

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