Page:Ethics (Moore 1912).djvu/211

 that is certain about the matter is (1) that, if we have Free Will, it must be true, in some sense, that we sometimes could have done, what we did not do; and (2) that, if everything is caused, it must be true, in some sense, that we never could have done, what we did not do. What is very uncertain, and what certainly needs to be investigated, is whether these two meanings of the word “could” are the same.

Let us begin by asking: What is the sense of the word “could,” in which it is so certain that we often could have done, what we did not do? What, for instance, is the sense in which I could have walked a mile in twenty minutes this morning, though I did not? There is one suggestion, which is very obvious: namely, that what I mean is simply after all that I could, if I had chosen; or (to avoid a possible complication) perhaps we had better say “that I should, if I had chosen.” In other words, the suggestion is that we often use the phrase “I could” simply and solely as a short way of saying “I should, if I had chosen.” And in all cases, where it is certainly true that