Robert Kane (philosopher)

Robert Kane (born 1938) is an American philosopher known for his work on free will, moral responsibility, and value theory. He is a Distinguished Teaching Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin.

Kane's philosophical project largely centers on the idea of libertarian free will, the view that we are sometimes genuinely free to choose between different alternative possibilities, and that our choices are not simply determined by prior events. He defends this position against determinism, the view that all events are causally necessitated, and compatibilism, the view that free will is compatible with determinism.

His most influential work, Free Will and Values (1985), outlines his event-causal libertarian account of free will. Kane argues that free will requires the existence of "self-forming actions" (SFAs), which are actions where the agent's effort of will is directly responsible for the outcome. SFAs are not deterministically caused by prior events but rather arise from indeterministic processes in the brain. He emphasizes that SFAs need not be frequent occurrences; rather, the agent's character is built through these moments of self-formation, which then influence later choices.

Kane's "dual rationality condition" states that in SFAs, both choices (e.g., acting morally versus acting selfishly) must be rational, and the agent has reasons for both. This helps to explain why an agent can be responsible for an action that was not deterministically caused, even though it involved an element of chance.

Criticisms of Kane's view often focus on the role of chance in SFAs and whether indeterminism can truly ground moral responsibility. Some argue that random events cannot be the basis for free and responsible action. However, Kane contends that the indeterminism in SFAs allows the agent's character and values to play a significant role in determining the outcome.

Beyond free will, Kane has also contributed to discussions on value theory, particularly focusing on the relationship between free will and value. He argues that the values we hold are intertwined with our capacity for free choice, as our choices reflect and shape our character and values.

His other notable works include The Significance of Free Will (1996) and A Contemporary Introduction to Free Will (2005). Kane remains a prominent figure in contemporary debates about free will and its implications for ethics, law, and our understanding of ourselves.