Locke's Trapped Conversationalist thought experiment is intended to show that
A) free actions do not require that one be able to do otherwise.
B) free actions are agent-caused actions.
C) free actions require that one can do otherwise.
D) there are no free actions.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Locke's Trapped Conversationalist thought experiment is intended to show that free actions require that one can do otherwise. In the experiment, a person is trapped in a room with a conversationalist who will only talk to them if they agree with everything the conversationalist says. The person is free to leave the room at any time, but if they do, they will never be able to talk to the conversationalist again. The person's choice of whether or not to leave the room is a free action, but it is not a free action in the sense that the person can do otherwise. If the person leaves the room, they will never be able to talk to the conversationalist again.

Locke's Trapped Conversationalist Thought Experiment Is Intended to Show That