P3: Free Will vs Determinism Flashcards
What are free will and determinism arguments?
Extent to which our behaviour is the result of forces we have no control over or whether people decide for themselves whether to act or behave in a certain way
Free will:
We have the ability to choose our behaviour w/out constraints of casual factors
Determinism:
behaviour is controlled and we do not exercise free will
The types of determinism:
Soft Hard Biological Environmental Psychic
Hard determinism
Every event/action has a cause
Free will is an illusion that disguises real cause of behaviour
Behav is predictable and controlled by causal factors
Soft determinism
Middle ground
People do have a choice but the choice is constrained by external or internal factors
Some behaviour more constrained than others. So there’s some free will in all behav
Biological
Belief that behaviour is due to biological factors.
Such as genes. Some genes allow high intelligence
Environmental
Behaviour caused by features of environment.
E.g. classical cond: reward / punishment
Psychic
Determined by unconscious drives.
E.g. Freud’s psychoanalysis states adult behaviour is determined by several innate drives at early stages
AO3: + free will: morality
Theologians argue free will is needed for morality members of the legal system that is needed for accountability.
AO3: - free will: high conc rates
High concordance rates in twins for disorders e.g. SZ .
but never 100% - soft det./ multiple det. Factors
AO3: - deterministic: environmental & genetic D
Problem w both is that neither can be the sole determining factor in behaviour.
Evid: 80%similarity in intelligence or 40% in depression.
Genes don’t entirely det. B. But equally for environment.
L: interactionist rather than a det. Approach represents reality.
