Free Will and Determinism
From a theological viewpoint, human free will may not exist at all, since God is all-knowing and all-powerful, the destiny of each individual is determined from the beginning to time. Augustine, Martin Luther, John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards all believed this, and before modern times it was the most common position in Christianity. Human life is also determined by certain physical and natural laws that exist in the material world, such as gravity, conservation of energy and chemistry, and perhaps by genetics as well. In addition, unfavorable environments and family life in childhood may also have a deterministic effect on individuals, such as a propensity to be involved in crime and drug abuse. Some people are more obviously constrained than others, such as alcoholics, drug addicts and insane persons, or those locked up in prison or some other institution where their lives are mostly determined by some external coercive authority. It is not difficult to find many such constraints on human beings, to which David Hume would have added culture, education and socialization, which were the real causes of most behavior (Notes 1/10). On the whole, though, so many limits exist on the freedom of the human will, that determinism of one variety or another seems to be the most valid explanation for the actions of individuals. For most of human history, when individual rights and political freedom did not exist, such determinism has indeed been quite blatant.
Hume argued that human behavior was uniform and predictable, and that it necessarily had to be in order for society to function at all. Without such order and predictability, the only result would be chaos...
Determinism, Compatibilism, Libertarianism Contemporary philosophical debates about free will can frequently resemble the old parable of the blind men and the elephant. Various blind sages are asked to examine an elephant: one grabs the tusk and declares the elephant is very like a spear, another grabs the tail and says that the elephant is like a rope. In the case of free will debates, we witness various schools of thought groping
Free Will" Exist and if so, to What Extent does it Exist? The concept of "Free Will" has been debated by many philosophers over a period of centuries, not only regarding its very existence but also regarding its elements, the extent to which it may or may not exist and its moral implications. Our assigned readings have merely touched on debates that have raged and will probably continue to rage
Today's world has greatly expanded and the challenges and provocations that humanity faces are great. Starting with political and economical challenges, and continuing with social and informational challenges, these are all more vast and complex than they were during Ancient Greek times. It is because of all these challenges that individuals will sometimes feel the need to resort to a higher power rather than treat everything in a causal,
Enlightenment Baruch Spinoza believed that humans' actions and activities are not based on free will, but rather humans are moved to action and thought because he believed that nothing happens by mere chance. His rationale for believing as he does is the basis for this essay. Free Will vs. Determinism A review of what Spinoza believed is not the easiest thing to accomplish since some of what Spinoza puts forward is seemingly esoteric
If we assume that 1) and 2) are true, then hard determinism is valid. Free will then is only an illusion that man perceives as a result of the complexity of all interacting cause-and-effects. Although he thinks he has possible courses of action, his final choice has already been the sum result of these interacting variables. However, if either 1) or 2) is false then it breaks down the
Therefore, they are compelled to choose what they do in order to instantiate God's foreordainment of history. It wouldn't seem to make sense, therefore, for the person to attempt to change their circumstances or to fight against fate. Affliction, tragedy and evil would be just what God wishes to throw at an individual, who could scarcely escape its occurrence. This seems to suggest a response of futility toward life
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