Determinism Flashcards
what types of hard determinism are there
- scientific determinism
- psychological determinism
3.
Scientific determinism: laplaces demon and criticisms
LAPLACE’S DEMON
- The demon is a being with the ability to know the positions and velocities of every particle in the universe at a given moment in time. - This being would be able to calculate the past and future of the universe using the laws of classical mechanics.
- Laplace expanded this idea to the entire universe – if some creature knew everything’s position and motion at one moment, then the laws of physics would give it complete knowledge of the future. That creature is Laplace’s demon.
- Laplace’s demon is a secular alternative to the idea of an omniscient God with perfect foreknowledge
BUT
- Some say that Laplace’s demon is impractical and would require an enormous amount of information to collect instantaneously. Others say that discoveries since Laplace’s time suggest that some aspects of his theory are incompatible with the universe, such as irreversible processes in thermodynamics.
two types of scientific determinism
Biological Determinism: biological factors such as genetics and brain chemistry determine human traits, behaviour and choice, as well as behaviour being shaped by environmental influences and social conditioning too
Suggests that free will is often seen as an illusion because individuals’ choices are shape by these external and internal factors
Newtonian Mechanics: Classic physics suggested that if the position and velocity of every particle in the universe was known then future events could be predicted with absolute precision - we are not free to change the future. This is known as Laplace’s Demon:
Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle - Scientific determinism
- The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle (HUP) is a fundamental concept in quantum mechanics that raises philosophical questions about the nature of uncertainty
- The HUP implies that there’s an inherent uncertainty in the act of measuring a particle’s variable. For example, measuring a particle’s position will disturb its speed, making it more uncertain.
- there is a limit to the precision with which certain pairs of physical properties, such as position and momentum, can be simultaneously known. In other words, the more accurately one property is measured, the less accurately the other property can be known.
criticisms of scientific determinism
- Quantum Mechanics: modern physics introduces an element of unpredictability or randomness at the microscopic level challenging the deterministic view
- Compatibilism: free will and determinism can coexist suggesting that freedom lies within out desires and rational deliberations not cause
- Moral Responsibility: scientific determinism undermines moral responsibility as it would imply that individuals are not truly responsible for for their actions as they are determined by things out of their control
theological determinism
- based in Christian idea that God is omniscient
- god must know past present and future to be all knowing
- he knows if you are going to heaven or hell and you have no choice in the matter –> predestination
- John calvin: regardless of your actions, the elet go to heaven and the damned go to hell
- therefore there is no free will –> casual foreknowledge: if God knows that you will do X, then there is no way you can avoid doing X
Aquinas and a timeless God (theological determinism)
- God merely sees the results of our free choices but arent their cause
- God does not exist within time
- he has the power to intervene but chooses not to
a temporal God option with theological determinism
- some christians believe that God and the physical world are two aspects of one God if God participates in our world, he cannot know the future
- God exists in time so God cannot know the future
God has middle knowledge with theological determinism
Luis de Molina
- God knows what you would do in any situation just not what you will do –> contingent content independent of Gods will
- allows God to remain omniscient without predetermining every action
- human free will is preserved so people are responsible for actions
- avoids problem of God being unjust/controlling everthing in a deterministic way
BF skinner and psychological determinism
and drawbacks
- His variation of Psychological Determinism is Psychological Behaviourism
- All behaviour is a product of genetic and environmental conditions
- All human actions depend on consequences of previous actions
- If an action has good consequences the brain is disposed to repeat it
- Other consequences would cause the disposition to be one of avoidance
- denied existence of free will and other internal psychological states
BUT
- Skinner’s applications of principles of animal behaviour to much more complex human behaviour is unsound
- If human behaviour is a set of conditioned responses determined by genetics + environment then his own behavioural thesis is only a conditioned response
psychic determinism with Psych D
Sigmund Freud 🧠
- Freud’s psychodynamic approach to explaining behaviour believed that at each stage of our development, we had a conflict we have to overcome.
- Any repressed unconscious conflicts determine our behaviour later in life.
- Influence of biological drives.😜
- Freud believed that any “accidental” behaviours were actually due to our unconscious - eg slips of the tongue are unconscious thoughts.👅
Biological determinism with Psych D
Genetics influence how we respond 🧬
- Few scientists believe genes cause people to act, but a combination with socio-economic, religio-cultural backgrounds and life experience may determine our behaviour. ✝️
- E.g. 2002 research shows particular gene that predisposes children to bad behaviour 🤥; combined with abusive household, more likely to go on to abuse.
environmental determinism and Psych D
- Behaviour is caused by features of the environment —> we cannot control this 😮
- These controlling factors are called agents of socialisation (eg parents and teachers) 👩🏫
- This learned behaviour from our environment determines our actions
- B.F Skinner says free will is an illusion because of conditioning - key part of environmental psychology
- The reason we think we have free will is because we have experience of making choices in society because this is how society works
- We therefore act as if we have free choices because we have to survive in this environment
