Free will and Determinism Flashcards
Free will and determinism debate
Is our behaviour selected without constraint (free will) or caused by internal or external factors (determinism)
Free will
The notion that humans can make choices and their behaviour/thoughts are not determined by biological or external forces
What approach has free will
Behaviourist approach
Determinism
The view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individual’s will do something
What approach has determinism
Biological approach
Hard determinism
The view that all behaviour is caused by something so free will is an illusion
Soft determinism
The view that behaviour may be predictable but there is also a room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities
What are the 3 types
- Biological
- Environmental
- Psychic
Biological determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences that we cannot control
Environmental determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment that we cannot control
Psychic determinism
They believe that behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts that we cannot control
The scientific emphasis of causal explanations
Science seeks to explain causes by identifying general laws the lavatory experiment allows control over variables
Free will evaluation points- Practical value
STRENGTH
Adolescents who believed in fatalism more prone to depression, internal locus of control
Free will evaluation points- Research evidence
LIMITATION
Participants asked to randomly flick wrist and say so, brain activity came before (Libet et al)
Free will and determinism evaluation points- Research evidence counterpoint
STRENGTH of free will
Adolescents who believed in fatalism more prone to depression, internal locus of control ‘healthier’ (Roberts)
