Key Philosophical Figures in the Exploration of the Thesis
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716), who is here a key proponent of soft determinism (“compatibilism”), the notion that agentially derived freedom occurs within the nature of causality
Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677), who is here a key proponent of hard determinism, the notion that actions are necessarily preceded and brought about through prior cause
René Descartes (1596-1650), who is here a key proponent of libertarianism, a notion that there are free agents and alternative possibilities (lack of a telos)