312 RELIGION, MORALITY, FAITH, AND REASONstate A such that A obtains and such that there is a lawlike A/B connection.
In order for determinism to be true, the past must not only entail, but also
explain, the future by virtue of there always being such lawlike
connections.^10
The Control Principle
What is most interestingly controversial about the argument, stated above,
against compatibilism concerns the third premise, which states a version of
the Control Principle: (CP) One has no control over anything that is entailed
by what one has no control over. Is (CP), or some appropriate replacement,
true? (CP) tells us this: one may properly infer from Sam has no control over
whether A obtains and That A obtains entails that B obtains to Sam has no
control over whether B obtains. There are two sorts of objection to (CP).
One is that there are analogous inferences that are not proper. For
example, neither of these arguments is valid:
Example 1: Sue is obligated to do A; doing A entails doing B; hence
Sue is obligated to do B. (Sue is obligated to wash her dog;
washing her dog entails shifting the position of some
atoms; hence Sue is obligated to shift the position of some
atoms.)^11
Example 2: Sue believes that P; that P is true entails that Q is true;
hence Sue believes that Q. (Sue believes that figure F is a
triangle; that F is a triangle entails that F’s interior angles
sum to 180 degrees; hence Sue believes that F’s interior
angles sum to 180 degrees. Sue can believe that F is a
triangle but has learned no geometry sufficient for
believing anything about what F’s interior angles sum to.)
On the other hand, there are analogous inferences that are entirely
proper:
Example 3: Necessarily, P entails Q; Necessarily P; hence Necessarily
Q.
Example 4: P entails Q; P is true; hence Q is true
are valid inferences. Is it with these, or with the previous examples, that the
Control Principle is properly compared? That is just the question all over
again as to whether the Control Principle is true. No real progress is likely
along these lines, either in favor or against the Control Principle. Each