sity, and the University of Oxford throughout his life. James died in Chocorua, New Hampshire during the year of 1910 he was 58 years old. The other philosopher is Baron d’Holbach born in 1723 and died in 1789. D’Holbach was German by birth and education, but French by fortune (he inherited his uncle's money, estate and title). His estate was a meeting place for the leading French radical thinkers of the late 18th century. He also became a member of a group of notable thinkers and literary men including the Diderot, Helvtius, Condorcet, and Rousseau. He was an atheist, a determinist, and a materialist. He was an opponent of absolute monarchy, state religions and feudal privilege. It is fair to describe him as one of the most radical intellectuals of his time. His most famous works are The System of Nature, Good (or Common) Sense, or Natural Ideas vs. Supernatural Ideas. Now that we know a little more about the issues and the philosophers we can discuss the issue between them. First, both of the philosophers believe in free will, but it is where free will comes from and why it’s necessary is where the differences between the two philosophers come in. William James believes in free will but related himself as an indeterminist while d’Holbach on the other hand is a hard determinist. Now an indeterminist is “someone that holds that a free action has no cause or that free actions are caused by an agency existing outside of nature and unaffected by natural forces.” Basically this means that a “free” action isn’t caused by something that isn’t by their self or their own will. Also a freely wild action isn’t one that is uncaused and thus unpredictable, but one whose cause is within them selves. For example; desires, character traits, and other motivating states. While determinists believe that laws of nature govern all events and we have no real control of our actions...
