A New Approach to the Traditional Free-Will Controversy

FAIN: FA-12172-78

Arthur W. Burks
Regents of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1015)

To do work on the metaphysical foundations of free will. P.I. has a book coming out, "Chance, Cause, Reason," which analyzes causality and laws of nature in terms of the causal modalities "causal necessity" and "causal possibility." This book includes definitions of determinism and indeterminism in terms of these concepts. These findings are the basis for the present study—applying these results 'to the free-will issue.