Free will and determinism eval Flashcards
Limitation of determinism
Is that it can provide an excuse for immoral behaviour
For example, Stephen Mobley killed a pizza shop manager in 1981 and claimed that he was born to kill due to a history of violence in his family
However, this argument was rejected and he was sentenced to death
This suggests hard determinism may be undesirable in a real life setting as it may lead to issues of criminal responsibility
Limitation of free will
Is that it is an illusion and a culturally relative concept
Behavioural psychologist Skinner claimed that free will is an illusion as our choices are actually determined by our previous reinforcement history
Furthermore, the idea of self-determination may only be relevant in individualistic societies, as collectivist cultures emphasise group needs
This suggests that our experience of free will is a product of socialisation and is not universal
Peel 3
Research which challenges the role of free will comes from the area of cognitive neuroscience
This is when an issue is criticised by research evidence
For example, Libet et al (1983) recorded activity in motor regions of the brain, before a person had conscious awareness of the decision to move their finger
However, the brain activity may simple represent a readiness to act, so this evidence has been challenged by other researchers
Peel 4
An interactionist approach would give the best explanation of behaviour
This is when it is not possible to separate either debate as they both contribute to behaviour so a combination of the two is the most appropriate in explaining & treating behaviour
This is because an individual’s behaviour would be best explained by both their free-will but also by taking into account the environmental events which may have affected these (determinism)
This highlights the importance of taking an interactionist approach when considering both free will and determinism as they cannot be easily separated
