Free Will + Determinism Flashcards
What is political freedom?
Being allowed to do what you want
What is free will?
The power to act, speak or think as one wants without hindrance
What is determinism?
The belief that a determinate set of conditions can only produce one set of possible outcomes. That all human nature is the inevitable result of environmental and hereditary factors
What physicalism imply?
Everything described as a mental activity can be reduced to physical events
What are theories supporting physicalism?
- Churchland- behaviour is different if a tumour is on different parts of the brain
- Libet- the brain knows decisions before sensation
What does behaviourism imply?
That we are able to predict exactly what someone is going to do as our behaviour is set.
What does John Watson believe?
That our behaviour is genetically set
What does B.F Skinner believe?
That our behaviour can be controlled by training
What is an example of taught behaviour?
Pavlov’s dog- he trained his dog to salivate at the sound of a pitch form, once in experience it was associated with food
What does Freud suggest about our choices?
That we have a subconscious motivation controlling our behaviour and choices. The id, representing our desires, and super ego, representing our repressed childhood memories and taught behaviour, are subconscious
What are criticisms of Freud’ s determinism
He only studied neurotic people
Does adult experience have any effect?
Doesn’t explain small choices and desires
What are criticisms of Skinner’s behaviourism?
Some people cannot be trained- autistic school responding with love and no punishment causes better behaviour all round
What are criticisms of determinism?
- undermines any moral responsibility- justice rendered futile
- Taylor says a person can evaluate whether they want to be who they are now
- there is a distinction between reason and causes- causes precede effects, reasons do not need to, reasons have purposes, causes do not, reasons can be good or bad
What is pre-destination?
The belief that someone or something has decided that your life will go a particular way- fate. The belief that God has already decided who will be saved- Calvin.
What is the difference between hard determinism and soft determinism?
Hard- future entirely set, people can’t be blamed
Soft- cannot be blamed for actions caused by an external force, but can take responsibility for those that are a result of internal causes.
What is Hume’s view on determinism?
Determinism NEEDS free will
What is Hobbes’ view on determinism?
‘Liberty and necessity are consistent; as in the water has liberty but also necessity of descending down the channel’
What does Sartre believe about freedom?
We are free in all senses of the word, both free will and freedom
What does Sartre believe distinguishes humans from objects and animals?
We initiate events and don’t just react. Our self consciousness and awareness make us unique.
What is a being for itself?
It is aware of its existence
What is a being in itself?
The being of non conscious things
What are facticities?
Aspects of our life which are given ( genes, parents)
What is bad faith?
Denial of our freedom
What does sartre’s anecdote of a homosexual claim?
That it is bad faith to label himself a homosexual even if he has only had past experiences with men because he has the freedom to act differently in the future. By limiting himself as a homosexual he is making himself a being in itself.
