...Name Professor Course Date Philosophy Free will can be termed as the ability of agents to make choices with no constrains of different dynamic factors. This principle of free will has implications on religion, legal and ethical factors among others. Philosophers since time immemorial have debated extensively on the existence or the nonexistence of free will in nature.one of this philosophical figure is David Hume, he maintains that humans are free because of decisions and their actions. This is so because though determined, they are determined by our individual motives. He demonstrated that determinism is a very integral part to the existence of individual free will. This therefore means that because our actions being determined causally by our motives and character human beings are morally responsible and are free willed. This then becomes a point of objection because if everything is caused, then what we decide is itself caused. Hume argues that human motives and desire is the Couse of their decisions. Determinism argument is not that we are free but that free will exists. The other philosopher who contributed this debate is Thomas Hobbes. He had a slightly different view on determinism and free will from those held by Hume. He said that God is the ultimate origin of every action, but if humans are not physically required to do any action, there is free will. Hobbes developed his thesis in name of liberty vs. necessity, as opposed free will vs. outwardly determined will. The order...
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...Free Will vs. Determinism ` One of the most reoccurring theoretical arguments of philosophy is the problem of free will and determinism. Walter Stace describes the famous debate between free will and determinism as one that does not have a simple solution because each side has substantial evidence that supports its ideas and beliefs. Although, Walter provides information on both approaches to free will, he was known to defend a view on the issue of free will and determinism called compatibilism. Compatibilism allows us to have a significant idea of what free will is as well as acknowledge that we do not decide to make spontaneous decisions but rather our choices are an outcome of previous causes. Basically, Stace claims that our natural choices are made at our own liberty and that we are in control of the most abrupt periods of a long causal chain. The concept of free will, well matched with determinism is crucial if we are to comprehend how anyone can be morally responsible for his or her actions. Stace's argument is mainly focused on the basic nature of morality and its significance to the problem of free will. Walter Stace claimed it is almost certain that if there is no free will there can be no morality. If morality is perceived to be of a fabricated nature, the question of what is primarily accurate and incorrect can now be challenged, as generally everything has already been predetermined. He then disputes that philosophers who oppose the reality of free will only...
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...Ted Honderich Determinism Vs Free Will Psychology 101-1322 Professor: James Pattison By: Belinda Bielicki July 2, 2011 Determinism versus Free Will: The most important and the oldest philosophical question is perhaps that of free will and determinism. Do people have free will, or are our actions pre-determined? Ted Honderich defined determinism as the philosophical idea that every event or state of affairs, including every human decision and action, is the inevitable and necessary consequence of antecedent states of affairs. "Nothing occurs at random, but everything for a reason and by necessity." Determinism is used by philosophers to account for some of the choices and actions that cause or create the effects of causal sequences; these sequences raise questions about the freedom of the choices and actions. Determinists believe our decisions are controlled by previous exposure to differing situations and environments and that each and every one of our actions is caused by a specific prior action or cause. (a occurs because of b, b occurs because of c..etc) In the belief of a determinist, man is no exception to this rule and therefore we are not "free" due to our actions being a result of a previous cause. If we are to dispute that this in fact is true, than we as human beings cannot be held responsible for our actions, as we have no control over them, they are automatic. However this is not the case, when a human commits an act, they are held responsible for...
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...Avery Suazo Free Will VS. Determinism Though it can be loosely traced back to modern arguments, which mainly revolve around religion, free will versus determinism has been a staple of debate for over a millennia. The side of free will argues that there is nothing inhibiting us, as humans, from making the choices we choose to make. I think that determinism, the other side of the argument, is incredibly vague and ambiguous; while free will is much more viable in every way. First, I will articulate the definitions and intricacies of both ideas; then, I will elaborate as to why free will is the winning choice in this debate; and finally, I will conclude with my final thoughts. Let’s start off with free will. The theory states that it is the ability to choose without constraint from any outside source of interference (e.g. social pressures, religion, law). By this theory, one can assume that any action is done by the will of the individual, which in turn proves that every action done has a sole agent responsible for said action. For example: Tommy goes to the store, he buys bananas. His mom calls and asks him to pick up some juice while he’s there. Note that Tommy may be naturally inclined to fulfill his mom’s request, but in no way is he out of control what choice he makes. Notice: inclined. He would likely choose to buy the juice as well as his bananas, because he is a good son and doesn’t mind spending the money for juice. He could also completely ignore what his mom says...
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...Nature vs. Nurture The nature versus nurture is about the importance of people natural qualities versus personal experiences. Personal experiences are nurture. It’s the different between in distinguishing the differences in a person actions, such as physical and behavioral traits. People mostly get all of their behavior from nurture. Both of these terms play a role in development. EDITNature vs nurture in personality traits Personality is a frequently cited example of a heritable trait that has been studied in twins and adoptions. Identical twins reared apart are far more similar in personality than randomly selected pairs of people. Likewise, identical twins are more similar than fraternal twins. Also, biological siblings are more similar in personality than adoptive siblings. Each observation suggests that personality is heritable to a certain extent. However, these same study designs allow for the examination of environment as well as genes. Adoption studies also directly measure the strength of shared family effects. Adopted siblings share only family environment. Unexpectedly, some adoption studies indicate that by adulthood the personalities of adopted siblings are no more similar than random pairs of strangers. This would mean that shared family effects on personality are zero by adulthood. As is the case with personality, non-shared environmental effects are often found to out-weigh shared environmental effects. That is, environmental effects that are typically thought...
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...Nature vs. Nurture: What are the reasons behind the development of human behavior? Laquinta Gantt Baker College English 102: Composition II Melissa Rigney May 4, 2012 Nature vs. Nurture Theory: What are the reasons behind the development of human behavior? Throughout history, research has attempted to determine if an individual’s personality, behaviors and intelligence are shaped by genetics or the environment, which formed the nature versus nurture theory. The nature versus nurture debate is about the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities (“nature”) versus personal experiences ("nurture") in determining individual differences in physical and behavioral traits. There have been many theories formulated to explain why humans behave the way they do. Explanations vary from demonology to magnetic fluids controlling people's behaviors. Toby Epstein Jayaratne’s article entitled “The Perennial Debate: Nature, Nurture, or Choice? Black and white Americans’ explanation for individual differences” attempts to persuade readers that choice is just as an influential factor as genetics or the environment by examining a group of black and white Americans to determine which of the three factors are most responsible for their differences. The author argues that in order to account for a person’s behavior, their explanation or beliefs about what causes them is very influential in determining the behaviors they exude. To provide evidence for his topic...
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...SOCIOLOGY – AQA – UNIT 4 - CRIME AND DEVIANCE The exam is split into 3 questions: • Q.1 is a pure methods section which contains two parts a) 12 marks and b) 21 marks. You should spend 45 minuets on this question. • Q.2 is a method in context question. Part a) is for 9 marks [could also be a 3 and 6 mark question] and part b) is for 15 marks. You should spend 30 minuets on this question. • Q.3 is a theories essay for 33 marks. THIS QUESTION IS SYNOPTIC! You should spend 45 minuets on this question. Below is a list of all the areas and studies you need to know for each section of the exam. Don’t worry if you don’t know all the studies, each college/school are likely to teach slightly different ones, just make sure you know about that amount for each section. Q.1 For the first two pure crime parts you need to know: Functionalist theories of crime and deviance Durkheim – Social control, social regulation including suicide Merton-Strain theory, blocked aspirations Cohen – Status frustration Cloward and Ohlin – Deviant subcultures New Right/Right Realism James Wilson – Strict law enforcement needed Wilson and Kelling – Broken windows, zero tolerance Murray – Cultural deprivation, single parents and ineffective, the underclass Erdos – Families without fathers Subcultural theories Cohen – Delinquent subcultures Cloward and Ohlin – Delinquency and opportunity, criminal, conflict and retreatist...
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...PSYB4 Past Paper Questions Listed below are all of the available past paper questions for the Debates section of your PSYB4 examination. The specimen paper below is representative of what your actual paper will look like (2 x 4 mark questions and 1 x 12 mark essay question. Older papers (June 2006-June 2009) used to have Psychology and Science as a separate section so there are a lot of past paper questions on this particular debate. Now they are combined and you would be asked a mixture of questions from across different debates. Print off the copy of this document without the answers and use this to mark them and give yourselves targets for improvement. Specimen Paper Outline what is meant by hypothesis testing and explain the role of hypothesis testing in scientific research. (4 marks) [AO3 = 4] Up to 2 marks for definition/outline of what is meant by hypothesis testing, eg a hypothesis is a testable, predictive statement/proposition specifying the relationships between events or variables. Two further marks for explanation of the role of hypothesis testing in research, eg theories need to be tested by empirical studies, hypothesis testing allows researchers to refute or support a theory, the degree of support determines confidence in a theory. Credit references to the null hypothesis and falsification of a theory 0 8 Explain what is meant by the nature-nurture debate in psychology. (4 marks) [AOl = 2, AO2 = 2] AOl One mark for outlining the term nature;...
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...A2 Religious Studies Revision Booklet To be used alongside the textbook and your classnotes. Contents G581: Philosophy of Religion Religious Language......................................................………p.1 Religious Experience........................................................…...p.7 Miracles..................................................................…………...p.12 Nature of God............................................................………...p.16 Life and Death.........................................................…………..p.20 G582: Religious Ethics Meta-ethics...........................…………………………………….p.25 Free Will and Determinism………………………………….……p.28 Conscience.......................…………………………………….…p.32 Virtue Ethics………………………………………………………..p.36 Sexual Ethics…………………………………………………...….p.40 Environment and Business Ethics……………………………….p.44 Religious Language Introduction The problems of religious language: • If we use language univocally about God, then we are limiting him / making him like a human • If we use language equivocally about God, we cannot be sure what the word means when applied to God • Are statements about God supposed to be cognitive – if so, what evidence proves / disproves them? • Are statements about God supposed to be non-cognitive – if so, do they have any meaning? The Verification...
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...selection a. Competition as the foundation of behavior b. Law of the Jungle B. Creationism 1. God created the universe and all creatures 2. Each species was created separate and distinct 3. God created man special in God’s own image IV. Human Nature A. Evolution 1. Survival of the fittest a. Social behavior b. Mating c. Reproduction 2. Behaviorism a. Behavior is a combination of social learning and genetic influencces b. Effect on antisocial behavior on reproduction 3. Biological determinism a. No real basis for free will B. Creationism 1. Humans were made in God’s image a. God is love, justice, kindness, and joyful 2. The Fall of Man separated humans from God a. ‘War’ between good and evil b. Man’s nature is now sinful 3. Jesus the Son of God redeemed human beings a. Death and resurrection of Jesus b. Through God’s grace and his son’s sacrifice, man has the opportunity to accept a higher nature 3. Humans are free to choose between good and evil V. Humans’ Life Purpose A. Evolution 1. Reproduce/Survive 2. Personal purpose is what people make it to be 3. People can find satisfaction if they follow their own desires and mitigate...
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...Psych 100, Notes Sept. 6, 2012 History and Perspectives * Definitions of Psychology * The science of mental life (William James, 1890) * “The study of human or animal behaviour” (Webster’s Dictionary 1988) * “The scientific study of behavior and mind” “The scientific study of behaviour and its causes” (Passer & Smith) * Roots of the Word * Psyche – Greek for soul * Logos – Greek for the study of a subject * Related Fields * Philosophy * Rene Decartes (1595-1650) Dualism (interactionism) * Body is physical entity * Mind is nonphysical entity * Mind and body are separate, distinct entities involved in the production of behaviour * Pineal gland (Used for mind and body to communicate) * Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) * Materialism – position that since nothing exists other than matter and energy the concept of soul is meaningless * Form of monism * Empiricism (Position that all human knowledge and thought are derived from sensory experience * Branch of Biology concerned with the scientific study of how living organisms function (Muller, Helmholtz, Fechner) * Birth of Psychology * Wilhelm Wundt * Established first independent psychology lab at university of Leipzig 1879 (birth of psychology) * Established first psychology journal 1881 * Studied consciousness (one’s awareness...
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...Nature vs. Nurture The stories of serial killers have intrigued all of us at times. One of these stories is Devil in the White City written by Erik Larson. It tells the story of the World’s Fair and of America’s first serial killer, H.H. Holmes. Scientists and psychologists have wondered why people like H.H. Holmes do what they do. It brings up the question which has a bigger effect on your personality, the genetics you were born with or the environment you were brought up in. In other words, nature versus nurture. This concept was debated by well respected scientist, Matt Ridley. He looked at both ideas in a chapter he wrote called “Free Will”. Another story where nature versus nurture could be debated was in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak....
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...l University of Phoenix Material Personality Theories Matrix THEORY | Psychoanalytic | Neo-Freudian | Trait | Biological | Humanistic |Behavioral/ Social | Cognitive | |School of Thought (List the factors that each school believes influence personality development) |Psychosexual stages: 1.Oral-Focus on mouth and a satisfaction of sucking and biting. 2. Anal-Pleasure of anus and a concern with feces. 3.Phallic-Fear and anxiety of castration from his father because of sexual desires for one’s mother. 4. Latency-Repression of infantile sexuality. 5.Gential-Maturity of sexuality, capable of genuine love. Concepts of Mental structure: 1. Id-Basic impulses, sexual and aggressive. Impulsive and irrational. This is also known as the pleasure principle when one seeks immediate satisfaction regardless of the consciences. 2. Ego-Test reality, seeks safety and survival, rational, and logic. 3. Super-Ego-Ideal and moral, strives for perfection, dictates, incorporative, imposes limitations on satisfactions. Unconscious Conflict: This is when a person may have a fear of certain things and may use other things to describe the fear. Example: If someone was afraid of an animal that they have never been in contact with. This may be a sign of a fear that is revealed as an unconscious conflict with something they know nothing about. |Alfred Adler: Strive for superiority: Born with a sense of inferiority. Striving to overcome these deficiencies of weakness and helplessness...
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...Conrad near the beginning of the novella first demonstrates his hesitation in asserting this belief, as he states through Marlow that “there is a taint of death, a flavor of mortality in lies” (Conrad 32). However, the ignorance and innocence that remains in the aftermath lie is all too alluring to discredit deception as a whole. Conrad seemingly annuls his initial statement by adding that deception is solely “one of these ironic necessities that lurk in the facts of human existence” (Conrad 91). Similarly, Leibniz, although being a philosopher whose sole purpose is to gain and distribute knowledge, recognizes a certain inevitability and essentiality in deception. Rather uncommonly, Leibniz subscribes to the peculiar pairing of free will and determinism to form a concept called “compatibilism” in which freedom is derived from man’s ignorance of predestined occurrences, in effect advocating that “a necessary ignorance of the future is practically, perhaps even logically, equivalent to freedom” (http://www.iep.utm.edu/leib-met/#SH6b). Additionally, Leibniz claims that the physical world around us is just an illusion and we have only tricked ourselves into deception for the sake of our understanding. Thus, despite existing in “the best world,” Leibniz believes, “some measure of deception… [is] necessary for achieving good”...
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...PSYCHOLOGY and your life chapter 1 introduction to ps ychology 2 chapter outline A Gift of Life It was every subway rider’s nightmare, times two. Who has ridden along New York’s 656 miles of subway lines and not wondered: “What if I fell to the tracks as a train came in? What would I do?” And who has not thought: “What if someone else fell? Would I jump to the rescue?” Wesley Autrey, a 50-year-old construction worker and navy veteran, faced both those questions in a flashing instant yesterday and got his answers almost as quickly. Mr. Autrey was waiting for the downtown local at 137th Street and Broadway in Manhattan around 12:45 p.m. He was taking his two daughters, Syshe, 4, and Shuqui, 6, home before work. Nearby, a man collapsed, his body convulsing. Mr. Autrey and two women rushed to help, he said. The man, Cameron Hollopeter, 20, managed to get up, but then stumbled to the platform edge and fell to the tracks, between the two rails. The headlights of the No. 1 train appeared. “I had to make a split decision,” Mr. Autrey said. So he made one, and leapt. Mr. Autrey lay on Mr. Hollopeter, his heart pounding, pressing him down in a space roughly a foot deep. The train’s brakes screeched, but it could not stop in time. Five cars rolled overhead before the train stopped, the cars passing inches from his head, smudging his blue knit cap with grease. Mr. Autrey heard onlookers’ screams. “We’re O.K. down here,” he yelled, “but I’ve got two daughters up there...
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