Freewill and Determinism Flashcards
What is a basic libertarian definition
People are free all the time
What is a basic hard determinist definition
Not free to choose at all
What is a basic soft determinist definition
(Compatibilist) In the middle, not always free but sometimes responsible.
What is a definition of autonomy
Self -rule or self-government. The term is made up of ‘autos’ meaning ‘self’ and ‘nomos’ meaning ‘rule’. Many philosophers such as Kant, hold that you can only be responsible for your actions that you undertake of your own will.
What is the complex definition of determinism
The belief that choices are influenced by factors other than the will of the individual. (events/actions are predetermined by other events therefore freedom of choice is an illusion)
What is the complex definition of hard determinism
The belief that people do not have free will to act in moral situations and that all moral actions have uncontrollable prior causes. Humans therefore cannot be morally blameworthy for their actions because their actions are predetermined.
What is the complex definition of libertarianism
The belief that humans are free to make moral choices and are therefore morally responsible.
What is liberty
freedom
What is moral responsibility
Our blameworthiness or praiseworthiness for actions
What is predestination
The belief that God has decided who will and will not enter heaven
What do soft determinism compatibilists believe
The belief that some actions are determined but we still have moral responsibility
What is the effect of humans not having free will
Morality becomes meaningless and we cannot be held morally responsible for our actions
What is a moral situation
It is one in which the individual can choose a particular course of action.
What is the theory of universal causation
Everything in the universe has a cause. Unpredictable and uncontrollable.
What are philosophers in the topic
Clarence Darrow-Law Ted Honderich David Hume John Locke Kant Jean-Paul Jartre
What are the limitations to freedom
- Laws of nature
- Physical attributes
- Laws of state and society
What type of freedom do some say is limited where another type is not
Some say there are limits to our actual not our moral freedom
What two types of freedom are there a distinction between
There is a distinction between freedom in general terms and freedom of will.
What is Sir Isaac Newton’s book
Principia Mathematica
What view of the earth is Isaac Newton’s
Mechanistic view
What is a scientific point of view on the topic
-Observable events are subject to the laws of nature
-Knowledge is based on the idea that events can be predicted by previous events.
(knowledge of the starting conditions)+ (knowledge of the relevant laws) = (successful outcome)
What type of laws are we governed by the same as the natural world
physical laws
What is the argument of universal causation
Everything is predictable
What is the idea of psychological determinism
The idea that all our behaviour is determined by nature and nurture. All in nurture regardless of talents, he believed he could raise any baby to be a beggar or a doctor
Who came up with the idea of psychological determinism
John B Watson
What did Ivan Pavlov do
Social conditioning. Society can train you to be a certain way.
What did BF Skkiner do
He said that behaviour can be controlled through reward and punishment- operant conditioning
What did Milgram do
Made people give a 450V shock by an authoritative figure. 65% did
What is the selfish gene and who mentions it
Dawkins- Act socially for survival, emotions fulfil evolutionary purposes
What is the theory of universal causation
Everything in the universe has a cause- unpredictable and uncontrollable.
What is the question posed by universal causation and what does it mean
Do humans possess free will?
If not morality becomes meaningless. We can’t be held responsible for our actions. A moral situation is one in which the individual can choose a particular course of action. Is moral decision making an illusion.
Example of a hard determinists view
Person needs ‘fixing’ or to be imprisoned like a machine.
What is the case of Leopold and Loeb
Leopold and Loeb were defended in 1924 by lawyer Clarence Darrow. Darrow used the determinist argument in several court cases.The two planned the perfect crime killing young neighbour bobby franks, but Darrow argued they were not fully responsible because they were genetically and environmentally determined.
What does hard determinism imply about mother teresa and adolf hitler
Mother Teresa is no more responsible for her good deeds than hitler was for this; he cannot be blamed and she cannot be praised.
What is chaos theory
A quantum effect at a fundemantal level can be the cause of a large-scale event
What is the Butterfly effect
A butterfly fluttering its wings in beijing could cause a later hurricane in new york
What is the gaia theory
The world changes itself to survive, nature is in control, not humans
What is the heisenburg uncertainty principle
It is not possible to measure both the position and speed of a particle at the same time, but just because we cannot measure them doesn’t mean they cannot be known
