Determinism, Free Will, and the Meaning of Life | Stephen Maitzen

Brain in a Vat

Stephen Maitzen argues that the world is deterministic. But if all of our choices are determined, how should we understand free will, the meaning of life, and regret?

Read Maitzen’s Book here:

https://www.routledge.com/Determinism-Death-and-Meaning/Maitzen/p/book/9781032134185

[00:00] Introduction to Determinism and Thought Experiment

[00:15] Clark Griswold's Christmas Lights: A Lesson in Determinism

[04:01] Probabilistic Explanations vs. Deterministic Explanations

[05:06] The Limits of Probabilistic Explanations

[12:47] Human Behavior and Determinism

[17:26] Infinite Regress and Brute Facts

[20:31 ] Time Travel and Determinism

[28:20] The Role of Deliberation in Determinism

[29:24] Forward-Looking Rationality and Regret

[30:50] Libertarian vs. Determinist Deliberation

[32:00] Compatibilism and the Illusion of Free Will

[33:53] The Rationality of Regret in Determinism

[37:41] Counterfactuals and Deterministic Implications

[44:40] Determinism and the Meaning of Life

[47:56] Libertarianism and Disrupting the Causal Chain

[55:13] Compatibilist Responses to Libertarian Objections

[59:22] Final Thoughts