1788-1860
German philosopher
Compatibilist
He believed that although our desires are determined, free will controls our actions.
"Man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills."
John Locke
1632-1704
English philosopher and physician
Empiricist and one of the most influential thinkers of the Age of Enlightenment
Hard Determinist
He believed that free will is an illusion caused by our ignorance and that human behaviour and actions are wholly determined.
Analogy:
A man wakes up in a room that, unknown to him, is locked from the outside. He chooses to stay in the room, believing to have chosen freely. In reality, he has no option. However, his ignorance of this gives him the illusion of freedom.
Daniel Dennett
1942
American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist
Compatibilist
He calls himself a "naturalist", as he believes in free will, determinism and quantum randomness.
Dick Swaab
1944
Dutch physician and neurologist
Hard determinist
He believes that free will is an illusion and a function of the brain providing rationalisations for choices after they have in fact already been determined.
Victor Lamme
Dutch neuroscientist and cognitive scientist
Author of "De Vrije Wil Bestaat Niet" (Free Will does not exist)
Hard determinist
He believes that our consciousness is simply a spectator that interprets our behaviour.
Immanuel Kant
1724 - 1804
German philosopher
Compatibalist
Believes, in contrast to Hobbes, that people do have ratio and can therefore decide on what they want.
He says that, although people can decide what they want to do, their decisions and actions still contribute to a bigger whole, of which the outcome was determined beforehand.
Thomas Hobbes
1588-1679
English philosopher
Compatibilist
Hobbes believed that people can only act upon their desires, but are still free as long as they can follow those desires and had the option to do different in case they desired something else.