Free Practice Quiz Question List

5 Free Will and Determinism Online Quiz Questions

Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 5 Free Will and Determinism, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.

20 questions

True or false

1 point

True or false: If determinism is true, deliberating and acting can still help cause an outcome.

A
True
B
False

Fill in the blank

1 point

The thesis that the state of the world at a given time, together with the laws of nature, fixes one possible future is called .

Written response

1 point

What term names the view that an agent, rather than merely prior events, causes a choice?

Choose one

1 point

A person donates because they care about others, although their values and decision have causes. Which view best explains why this action could still be free?

A
Free will is possible only if determinism is false.
B
Free will can exist under determinism when a person acts from their own motives rather than coercion.
C
People are free only when their actions result from random chance.
D
An action is free only if no laws of nature apply to it.

Choose all

1 point

Which capacities are identified as possible grounds for judging someone morally responsible? Select all that apply.

A
Understanding what one is doing
B
Being able to control the laws of nature
C
Recognizing relevant reasons
D
Having a choice caused by random chance

True or false

1 point

True or false: All incompatibilists believe that people sometimes have free will and that determinism is false.

A
True
B
False

Fill in the blank

1 point

Hypothetical examples in which a controller would ensure a particular choice if needed, but never intervenes because the person makes that choice on their own, are called .

Written response

1 point

What term names the view that an outcome will occur regardless of what a person does?

Choose one

1 point

Which position holds that determinism is false while affirming that people sometimes have free will?

A
Hard determinism: determinism is false, so free will is possible.
B
Compatibilism: free will and determinism cannot both be true.
C
Libertarianism: determinism is false, and people sometimes have free will.
D
Hard incompatibilism: determinism is false, and chance guarantees control.

Choose all

1 point

Which claims describe hard incompatibilism? Select all that apply.

A
They argue that free will is absent whether determinism or indeterminism is true.
B
They believe determinism guarantees that people can choose otherwise.
C
They argue that determination threatens ultimate control.
D
They claim that random chance by itself supplies the control required for free will.

Choose one

1 point

Which option best describes the Consequence Argument for incompatibilism?

A
The claim that outcomes occur regardless of what anyone does
B
The argument that present actions follow from the distant past and laws of nature, which agents cannot control
C
The claim that moral responsibility depends only on whether an action has a good result
D
The view that an agent, rather than prior events, causes a choice

Choose one

1 point

Which option best captures what moral responsibility concerns?

A
Whether an action is attributable to a person in a way that makes praise or blame appropriate
B
Whether the laws of nature allow more than one possible future
C
Whether an action was caused by an event outside the person's life
D
Whether a person can control the distant past

True or false

1 point

True or false: The free-will debate treats free will and moral responsibility as identical questions, so any view about one automatically settles the other.

A
True
B
False

Open ended

1 point

A person donates because they care about others, and their decision is causally determined but not coerced. Explain how a compatibilist and an incompatibilist would differ in assessing whether the person acted freely.

Written response

1 point

What is the thesis called that says the state of the world at a given time, together with the laws of nature, fixes one possible future?

Choose one

1 point

Suppose the laws of nature and the world's earlier state fix that a traveler will reach a station. The traveler deliberates about which route to take, and that deliberation helps cause the route taken and the arrival. Which conclusion best captures the distinction between determinism and fatalism?

A
This is fatalism, because the outcome will occur regardless of the person's deliberation.
B
This is consistent with causal determinism, because deliberation and action can be causes of the outcome.
C
This proves that the person could have chosen otherwise, so determinism is false.
D
This shows that the outcome was caused by random chance rather than by the person's actions.

Choose one

1 point

A person gives to charity because they care about others. Their values and decision have causes, but no one threatens or restrains them. Which assessment best represents a compatibilist view?

A
The decision cannot be free if it has any cause.
B
The decision is free only if the person could have acted differently in exactly the same circumstances.
C
The decision may be free because it expresses the person's own values and is not coerced, even if it has causes.
D
The decision is free only if it resulted from random chance.

Choose one

1 point

Which reasoning best expresses the Consequence Argument for incompatibilism?

A
If determinism is true, present actions follow from the distant past and laws of nature, which the agent cannot control; this may mean the actions are not up to the agent.
B
If determinism is true, people never deliberate, so their actions cannot be caused by their reasoning.
C
If determinism is false, every action is random and therefore morally responsible.
D
If a person has motives, those motives must be uncaused, so the person controls them completely.

Choose one

1 point

A philosopher argues that free will and determinism cannot both be true, that determinism is false, and that people sometimes nevertheless act freely. Which position does this philosopher hold in the free-will debate?

A
A compatibilist who says free will is present only when choices are undetermined.
B
A hard determinist who accepts determinism and denies free will.
C
A hard incompatibilist who denies free will whether determinism or indeterminism is true.
D
A libertarian who rejects determinism and maintains that people sometimes have free will.

Written response

1 point

A choice is not fully determined by prior causes, but it occurs by chance. According to the material, what crucial feature has this fact alone not shown the agent has? Enter one term.