philo question

1. Complete the following requests/questions in sequence:

Are you free?  This question has multiple applications, so let me narrow the question.  For instance, we could meaningfully apply the question 'Are you free?' in in social, legal, and political contexts.  However, the question can be asked more fundamentally or philosophically, asking us 'Are we free at all to decide consciously how to take one action or another, one view or another?' 

2. Also, respond to Jean-Paul Sartre's notion of being fundamentally free.  Has he a point?  What about your genetic predispositions and social upbringing?  What implications follow from Sartre's thesis, that we are fundamentally free.

Sartre: Existentialism Is a Humanism

In this essay Sartre maintains that humans have complete freedom to create themselves as they see fit. “Existence precedes essence,” he says, which refers to the notion that humans first come into existence and then are totally free to give themselves an essence (a purpose or set of values). Because we have such creative freedom, we are forlorn and anguished. But because we can create our own values and live our own lives, we are also blessed.

3. Suppose hard determinism is true. Would punishment for offenses ever be justified? Would praise for making good choices be appropri-ate? If the answer is no, would that constitute an argument against hard determinism