An argument Chisholm thinks would be sound if Aquinas were right

1. (Premise from Aquinas) God is the cause of every movement.

2. (Premise) Every action is a movement (of the soul, say).

3. (Premise) If y is the cause of x’s action, and x is neither identical with y nor responsible for y, then x is not responsible for the action.

4. (Premise) Nobody but God is responsible for or identical with God.

5. Therefore, if x acts, God is the cause of his action. (By (1) and (2))

6. Therefore, if x is not God and x acts, x is not responsible for his action. (By (3), (4) and (5))

An argument Kane rejects

1. (Premise) If my choice is undetermined, then I could have made a different choice with exactly the same past.

2. (Premise) But if the same state can lead to more than one outcome, then this is a matter of chance not rational choice.

3. Therefore, if my choice is undetermined, it is not a rational choice.

A consequence argument (Finch and Warfield’s modification of van Inwagen’s argument)

Let F be any truth.  Let P be a complete description of the world in the distant past.  Let L be the laws of nature.  Let Np be the claim that “p and no one has, or ever had, any choice about whether p.”

1. (Premise) Necessarily(P&L à F).
2. (Premise) N(P&L).
3. (Premise) If Np and Necessarily(p à q), then Nq.
4. NF. (By 1-3)