[MD] Free Will (footnotes to Plato)

[craigerb at comcast.net]

[Ham]
> Laplace used the premise that absolute knowledge would give us the power to 
> predict events. The "flaw" is that it is not possible to acquire
> absolute knowledge; so he is begging the conclusion that events
> are deterministic. 

Laplace's argument does not depend on the possibility of absolute
knowledge (whatever that might be).
Instead:
1) Assume that the first exercise of free-will occurs at time t0.
2) If D0 is the complete state of the universe at time t0 &
if the laws of nature were such that from D0 only D1 would result at
time t1, then D1 must result at time t1.
3) :. D1 must occur at time t1
4) If D1 must occur at time t1, then the exercise of free-will
cannot produce some result other than D1.
5) :. The exercise of free-will cannot produce some result other than D1. 

So Laplace has argued that free-will cannot change the outcome that
must result by the laws of nature. 
Craig