# (Freewill) Determinism <=> for any human h there exists at least one (deterministic) logical system L(h) which can completely reliably predict H's actions in all circumstances.
# (Freewill) Determinism <=> for any human h there exists at least one (deterministic) logical system L(h) which can completely reliably predict H's actions in all circumstances.
# For any logical system L a sufficiently skilled mathematical logician (equipped with a sufficently powerful computer if necssary) can constuct some statements T(L) which are true by unprovable in L.(this follows from the proof of Gödel's theorem)
# For any logical system L a sufficiently skilled mathematical logician (equipped with a sufficently powerful computer if necssary) can constuct some statements T(L) which are true by unprovable in L.(this follows from the proof of Gödel's theorem)
# If a human m is a sufficiently skillful mathematical logician (equipped with a sufficiently powerful computer if necessary)then if m is given L(m)(s)he can construct T(L(m)) and
# If a human m is a sufficiently skillful mathematical logician (equipped with a sufficiently powerful computer if necessary)then if m is given L(m), he or she can construct T(L(m)) and
# Determine that they are true which L(m) could not do.
# Determine that they are true which L(m) could not do.
# Hence L(m) does not reliably predict m's actions in all circumstances.
# Hence L(m) does not reliably predict m's actions in all circumstances.
Revisionasof21:38,14December2006
John Randolph LucasFBA (born 18 June, 1929) is a British philosopher.
Overview
As an undergraduate at Balliol College, Oxford, 1947-1950, Lucas studied first maths, then Greats (Philosophy and Ancient History), obtaining the MA in Philosophy in 1954. He spent the 1957-58 academic year at Princeton University, deepening his understanding of mathematics and logic. For 36 years, until his 1996 retirement, he was a Fellow and Tutor of Merton College, Oxford, and remains an emeritus member of the University Faculty of Philosophy. He is a Fellow of the British Academy.
The son of a Church of England clergyman, Lucas describes himself as "a dyed-in-the-wool traditional Englishman." He and Morar Portal have four children, among them Edward Lucas, Eastern European editor for The Economist. Sartorially independent, he may be remembered for a cool-weather habit of wearing a tie over his sweater under a jacket.
In addition to his philosophical career, Lucas has taken a practical interest in business ethics. He helped found the Oxford Consumers' Group [1], and was its first Chairman in 1961-3, serving again in 1965.
Main Philosophical Contributions
Freewill
Lucas's argument in Minds, Machines and Gödel is one of the most interesting 20th Century ideas in philosophy. He argues that [1]:
(Freewill) Determinism <=> for any human h there exists at least one (deterministic) logical system L(h) which can completely reliably predict H's actions in all circumstances.
For any logical system L a sufficiently skilled mathematical logician (equipped with a sufficently powerful computer if necssary) can constuct some statements T(L) which are true by unprovable in L.(this follows from the proof of Gödel's theorem)
If a human m is a sufficiently skillful mathematical logician (equipped with a sufficiently powerful computer if necessary)then if m is given L(m), he or she can construct T(L(m)) and
Determine that they are true which L(m) could not do.
Hence L(m) does not reliably predict m's actions in all circumstances.
Hence m has freewill.
But there is insufficient qualitative difference between mathematical logicians and the rest of the population for it to be plausible to believe that the former have freewill and the latter do not.
Although (as with any argument) it is possible to dispute any of these points they constitute a new contribution to a major philosophical debate that has been going on for centuries.
Space, Time and Causality
Lucas wrote several books on the philosophy of science and space-time (see below). In A treatise on time and space he introduced a transcendental derivation of the Lorenz Transformations based on Red and Blue exchanging messages (in Russian and Greek respectively) from their respective frames of reference which demonstrates how these can be derived from a minimal set of philosophical assumptions.
Career highlights
1942-7. Schooled at St Mary's College, Winchester (commonly known as Winchester College)
