Free Will And Determinsim

Question 1

What is the free will-determinism debate?

Answer 1

• Is our behaviour a matter of free will or are we the product of external/internal influences that determine who we are and what we do

Question 2

What are the two versions of Determinism?

Answer 2

• Hard Determinism: All human behaviour has a cause and it should be possible to identify and describe these causes. Everything we do is dictated by an internal or external force that we have no control of
• Soft Determinism: James was the first to put forward the notion of soft determinism. Whilst scientists may explain what determines our behaviour, the does not detract from the freedom we have to make conscious and rational decisions

Question 3

What are the three types of Determinism?

Answer 3

• Biological Determinism: Biological structures determine behaviour e.g influence of the autonomic nervous system on stress (the biological approach)
• Environmental Determinism: Skinner said free will is an illusion and suggested behaviour is a result of conditioning, out experience of choice is merely the sum total of reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us throughout our lives
• Psychic Determinism: Freud believed free will was an illusion and emphasised the influence of biological drives and instincts. Behaviour is determined by the unconscious e.g parapraxes

Question 4

What is meant by ‘The scientific emphasis on causal explanations’?

Answer 4

• One of the basis of science is that everything has a cause that can be explained by using a general law. Scientist like demonstrating causal relationships.

Question 5

What is the benefit of believing we have free will?

Answer 5

• It has been demonstrated to improve mental health. Robert’s looked at adolescents who has a strong belief in fatalism. The study found these adolescents has a higher risk of developing depression. People who exhibit an external locus of control are less likely to be optimistic than those with internal locus of control

Question 6

In what way is determinism concretely supported?

Answer 6

• Libet instructed pps to choose a random moment to flick their wrist while measuring brain activity. Pps has to say when they felt the conscious will to move.
• Unconscious brain activity leading up to conscious decision to move came around half a second before the pps felt the conscious decision to move
• decisions are decided by our brain before we make them

Question 7

How is hard determinism not compatible with the modern day legal system?

Answer 7

• The idea that we have no free will appears to completely reprimand people from the responsibility of their actions, for example someone who has committed a crime is thought to have exercised their free will in order to to be convicted. Therefore, the idea that we have no free will would excuse all criminals, which makes it incompatible with society