Roderick Chisholm
When we act freely, we cause our acts, and nothing causes us to cause them: each of us would be a "prime mover unmoved".
Life
American philosopher (1916-1999), professor at Brown University. He left his mark on epistemology, metaphysics and the free-will question. He defends "agent causation": when we act freely, we cause our acts, and nothing makes us cause them.
Main works
A study of perception and the beliefs it grounds.
Seeks to answer the skeptic by examining what justifies our beliefs.
Treats the nature of persons, objects and freedom.
In his own words
« If we are responsible, and if what I have been trying to say is true, then we have a prerogative which some would attribute only to God: each of us, when we act, is a prime mover unmoved. »
« Our question was: "Are there positive reasons for being skeptical about the possibility of succeeding in the epistemic enterprise?" The answer seems to be that there are no such reasons. »
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceHe answers the skeptic: some beliefs are justified without needing other beliefs, so knowledge is possible.
Chisholm, Theory of Knowledge (1966)
He defends the self as a real substance that is more than a bundle of physical states.
Chisholm, Person and Object (1976)
Free acts are caused by the agent, not by earlier events: the agent is an unmoved mover.
Chisholm, Human Freedom and the Self (1964)