Resumo

PATARROYO G, Carlos G. Quantum Indeterminacy, Freedom, and Responsibility. Ideas y Valores [online]. 2008, vol.57, n.136, pp.27-56. ISSN 0120-0062.

In the contemporary debate between determinism and indeterminism, quantum mechanics is used by libertarianists, both as a resource to escape the determinism imposed by classical physics and as a tool to search for a ground for the possibility of free will and moral responsibility. This paper will show that every defense of free will based on quantum mechanics has to overcome at least two objections: on the one hand, the one I have decided to call the scale principle, and, on the other hand, Robert Kane's luck principle. As will be shown, answering the first objection does not imply answering the second. Through an analysis of the most recent proposals that attempt to solve the latter, this paper will conclude that neither of the proposals offers a convincing explanation of how quantum mechanics can help to solve the problem of free will. Rather, quantum mechanics seem to contribute to complicating the problem.

Palavras-chave : quantum mechanics; indeterminism; freedom; will; responsibility.

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