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In this book, I discuss philosophical questions related to freedom (free will). However, I do not primarily address well-known philosophers or their arguments. This book attempts to examine—and go beyond—the works of philosophers and others at the cutting edge of the ever-evolving philosophy of freedom within the field of analytic philosophy, which is the contemporary philosophy of the English-speaking world.
 
This book considers freedom as “deciding what we do among multiple options (alternative possibilities).” There is no need to approach this concept as “philosophical freedom.” I am talking here about the freedom, for example, to decide on one particular dish when planning this evening’s dinner menu. It is, as well, the same freedom we so fervently hope for when we make such critical life choices as to what kind of career we will have, or who we will choose for our life partner.
 
In the long history of philosophy, however, the idea has predominated that humans actually do not have such freedom of choice. One argument is that all our actions are determined by something we have no control over, such as God or a physical cause in the distant past. The other argument is that our actions are just the product of random luck. Historically, those who try to seek out freedom have usually asserted that it is possible, based on the first argument, that our actions are wholly determined, and at the same time we are free.
 
My assertion in this book, however, is based on the second argument, that our “actions are just the product of random luck,” and that even so we can have “freedom.” Of course, the only way to know exactly what is meant by saying something is the product of “luck” is to read this book. The essence of my arguments concerning the strange relationship between “freedom” and “luck” is as follows.
 
I'm open to options. And right now, I choose from among those options. This interpretation of freedom creates a disconnect between the actual choice and such facts as what the person making the choice was like in the past, and how that person thinks. This disconnect inhibits the ability to do what one judges to be most desirable, i.e., to rationally control one’s actions, and in a sense gives us no recourse, for, as free people, we are exposed to “luck” every time we make a choice freely.
 
At the same time, the very existence of this “luck” (disconnect) makes it possible to sever the connection between the past and the present. For humans, freedom of choice is essential if we are not to be bound by the past, but are willing to transcend the past and transform ourselves by our own hands.
 
This book is an attempt to thoroughly discuss the plausibility of the above claims. All of the arguments I make aim to capture a concrete and real image of a human being that is “free and yet also at the mercy of luck.” It is my hope that the reader will find the fascination of the philosophy of freedom. 

 

(Written by: LEE Taehee / August 28, 2024)