Free Will Flashcards
what is free will?
the idea that we are able to act as we want at all times
what is soft determinism?
the idea that people have some control over their actions, but factors like genetics and environment influence our decisions
what is hard determinism?
the idea that people have no free will. All actions are fully the result of previous causes such as our genetics and upbringing
what are some arguments against determinism?
human behaviour if complicated and unpredictable, it’s dehumanising -> makes us less like people and more like machines, low research validation
what are some arguments against free will?
upbringing plays a part, everyone’s actions are controlled by something e.g. society, expectations, other people, stereotypes
what does the Libet experiment prove?
that you unconscious brain makes decisions before your mind does, You decide things but this always follows the necessary brain activity.
what does the Libet experimant tell us about the choices we make?
choices that are important to us are still deliberated by our conscious mind, but many less important acts of picking might be done for us
what does the Libet Experiment tell us about free will?
that free will can only exist as the capacity to make intelligent decisions
What is behavourism?
it is a theory that says your mind and thoughts can be fully explained by your physical behaviour, and that people’s behaviour and therefore their minds and free will can be conditioned or determined by their environment.
What did Sigmund Freud say about the mind?
‘The mind is like an ice burg- it floats with 1/7 of its bulk above the water’
What did Freud model the mind as being?
divided between the conscious and the unconscious
The unconscious mind is…
a product of the super ego and the ID
What is the ego?
its really just the way we express the internal conflict between these rules and expectations and our deepest desires
