Liner Notes

Lyrics written by Kris McDaniel and Ben Bradley

Kris McDaniel: vocals, edrums, electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboards
Ben Bradley: piano, vocals

Cover art by Carrie Jenkins

Do you act freely only when there are alternative courses of action you could have done instead? Suppose that right now Fred wants to murder Tom. Fred has the means to do so, has crafted a fool-proof plan, and has positioned himself at the optimal angle to assassinate. He pulls the trigger and Tom is murdered. But there is an evil demon who has been passively monitoring Fred’s thoughts while lurking in the background. If Fred had hesitated and decided not to kill Tom, the demon would have intervened and used demonic magic to strengthen Fred’s resolve to murder. No matter what, Fred is going to kill Tom. But as a matter of fact, the demon never intervened. Did Fred freely kill Tom?

Perhaps what makes an action free is not that one could have done otherwise, but rather that one is wholehearted in one what they do. Sometimes we desire something but wish that we didn’t. When I see a plate of cookies, I desire to eat them all, but this desire torments me. I’d rather not have it. You wholeheartedly desire something when you not only want the thing, but when you also want that you have the want for it.

These are topics that the philosopher Harry Frankfurt explores in some classic papers.


Lyrics

I’ve got a demon riding inside of me
taking away all my alternative possibilities
His hand on the trigger, ready to take control
If I were to falter in my goal

This world is filled with bullshit spreading miscreants
But still I’ll do the best, if I can
I’ll seek a course that’s not merely convenient
But I’m an overdetermined man

I’ve got a demon riding inside of me
But he can’t take my moral responsibility
Because I desire that I desire
I will bear the blame for whatever will transpire

This world is filled with bullshit spreading miscreants
But still I’ll do the best, if I can
I’ll seek a course that’s not merely convenient
But I’m an overdetermined man

So ride demon, ride demon, ride
It doesn’t matter that you’re always waiting inside
Oh, no!

This world is filled with bullshit spreading miscreants
But still I’ll do the best, if I can
I’ll seek a course that’s not merely convenient
But I’m an overdetermined man

I’m an overdetermined man
An overdetermined man