Stace (1886-1967) Attempts to Reconcile Free Will with Causal Determinism

question 12

True/False

Stace (1886-1967) attempts to reconcile free will with causal determinism. He takes the position that William James labeled "soft determinism" (compatibilism). We must have free will to be held morally responsible, and yet it seems plausible that all our actions are caused. How can these two apparently inconsistent ideas be brought together? Stace argues that the problem is merely a verbal dispute and that, rightly understood, there is no inconsistency in holding to both doctrines. Free actions are those we do voluntarily, whereas unfree actions are those we do involuntarily.
-Stace argues that acts not freely done are those whose immediate causes are states of affairs external to the agent.

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