free will and determinism Flashcards
the free will- determinism debate
is our behaviour a matter of free will or are we product of a set internal/external influences that determine who we are and what we do
mostly approaches are determinist to some extent
different approaches disagree on what the precise causes of human behaviour are
biological - internal and external nature and nurture
behaviourist - external
humanistic - free will
free will
suggests that human beings are essentially self-determining and free to choose their own thoughts and actions
belief in free will does not deny that there may be biological and environametla forces that exert influence on behaviour yet it implies that we are able to reject these forces if we wish as we control our thoughts and behaviour
free will is a view that human behaviour is advocated by the humanistic approach
determinism
proposes that free will has no place in explaining behaviour
hard determinism
fatalism
suggest that all human behaviour has a cause and it should be possible to identify and describe these causes
always assumes that everything we think and do is dictated by internal or external forces that we cannot control
soft determinism
important feature of cognitive approach
biological andf environmental factors that determine behaviour yet also we have freedom to make rational conscious choices in everyday situations
types of determinism - biological determinism
biological approach
believes that behaviour is determined by a persons genes and internal systems
in regards to mental disorders this approach state that it is nit the patients fault that they are ill
we can predict our behaviour as a consequence of our brain structure and functions - example brian damage might cause schizophrenia
predict our behaviour as a consequence of our hormones example - causes aggression
types of determinism - environmental determinism
behaviourist approach
our behaviour is a consequence of reward and punishment positive and negative reinforcement meaning we can predict human behaviour
support of this comes from successful treatments through aversion therapy and research to support key theories - operant and classical conditioning
skinner argued that all behaviour is determined by environmental events and that humans tend to repeat behaviour that are regarded
free will is simply and illusion
types of determinism - psychic determinism
pscyhodynamic approach
our personality is determined by our childhood experiences (fixation) internal syste,s such as defence mechanisms determine that way people behave as adults
psychodynamic approach although mainly deterministic believed that there is a potential for free will
support for this comes from the success of psychoanalysis as a treatment for mental disorder
the scientific emphasis on causal explanations
one of the basic principles of science is that every event in the universe has a cause and that cause can be explained using general laws (hard determinism)
knowledge of causes and formulation of laws are important as they allow scientists to to predict and control events in the future
in psych the lab experiment is that ideal of science as it enables researchers to demonstrate causal relationships
strength
may exacerbate mental disorders
giving the ideas that they have no control over it
example - biological approach towards OCD
beleving that its all to do with genes
not a positive thing as they may believe that they can’t fix it
there are more positive views on mental health
example - cognitive approach to depression showgirl evidences of CBT working also alongside medication showing that its not all completely biological
limitation
research evidence
limitation of free will is that brian scan evidence does not support it but does support determinism
Libet et al instructed participants to choose a random moment to flick their wrists while he measured activity in their brain
participants had to say when they felt the conscious will to move
Libet found that the unconscious’s brain acitovity leasing up to the conscious deliciousness to move came around half a second before the participant consciously decided to move
may be interpreted as meaning that even our most basic experiences of free will are actually determined by our brain before we are aware of them
limitation
the law
limitation of determinism is the position of the legal system on responsibility
the hard determinist stance is that individual choice is not the chase of behaviour
this is not consistent with the way in which our legal system operates
in a court of law offenders ar held responsible for their actions
the main principle of our legal system is that a defendant excrescences their free will in committing the crime
suggest that in the real world determinism arguments do not work
