free will and determinism Flashcards
define determinism
the belief that behaviour is controlled by external or internal factors acting upon the individual
define free will
the idea that each individual has the power to make choices about their own behaviour- they are in control
what are the different types of determinism
1) biological
2) environmental
3) psychic
4) hard/soft
outline biological determinism
the idea that genetic influences influence and determine our behaviour, for example intelligence is controlled by the IGF2R gene
in turn genes influence brain structure and neurotransmitters such as dopamine which are often implicated with behaviour
outline environmental determinism
the idea that all behaviour is caused by previous experiences, through the process of classical and operant conditioning.
outline psychic determinism
the idea that adult behaviour is determined by mix of innate drives and early experiences- behaviour is driven by libido
outline the role of the humanistic approach in explaining free will
- humanistic psychologists argued that self-determination was a necessary part of human behaviour, claimed as long as an individual remains controlled by other people they are unable to take responsibility for their behaviour and therefore cant change it
only when individuals take responsibility is personal growth possible
what is the idea of moral responsibility
the idea that an individual is in charge of their own actions- it is the assumption of our society that normal adult behaviour is self determined- humans are accountable for their actions
what are the ley points of the free will argument
1) humanistic approach
2) moral responsibility
evaluate the deterministic approach
1) problems distinguishing between environmental and genetic determinism- neither can be the sole determining factor- studies that compare identical twins find only 80% similarity in intelligence and 40% for depression- if twins are supposed to share 100% genetics then it should be 100% concordance rate- this suggest that the environment must play a role- an interactionist approach may be better suited
2) allows for justification against immoral acts- if behaviour is supposedly determined by biology or the environment it can be claimed that any aggression or violence performed by an individual was determined by inherited aggressive tendencies and was outside of the individuals control eg a man who killed a pizza shop manager in 1981 claimed he was born to kill in court. This shows, in practise the deterministic position may be undesirable as it allows an excuse for behaviour
3) if we take a purely deterministic view then it means mental disorders such as depression or schizophrenia will only be treated one way, For example if it is presumed it is causes solely by biology, genetics, then the treatment would only target genes and neurotransmitters, blocking the consideration of other treatments that may be beneficial such as CBT
evaluate the free will approach
1) there is research challenging the concept of free will- researchers recorded activity in motor areas of the brain before the individual had conscious awareness of the decision to move a finger, this suggested that the actions was already predetermined, however, follow up research reached a different conclusion suggesting the brain activity was purely a readiness to act rather than an intention to move
2) research method- lab study
3) free will is an illusion and culturally relative- being able to decide between two different actions is not free will but provides an illusion of free will- an individual may choose a certain car or to see a certain fil, but these choices are determined by previous reinforcement activity, it is based on past experiences, such as if you liked similar films- this suggest an example of conditioning from the past suggesting free will may just be environmental determinism.
4) culturally relative- the idea of self-determination may be culturally relative, only appropriate to individualist societies as collectivist cultures place a greater value on behaviour determined by group needs suggesting that free will is a product of socialisation and not something real
