...Critically assess the claim that free will and determinism are compatible (35marks) Free will is when you make an independent choice or voluntary decision, put in philosophical terms it is the art for a particular sort of capacity of rational agents to choose a course of action from among various alternatives. Free will is also known as libertarianism or non-compatibilism, this theory also states that you are responsible for your actions, as does soft determinism. Hard determinism and predestination state that you are not responsible for your actions because your life is predetermined and out of your control. This essay will explore the ways in which freewill and determinism work together and the ways in which they oppose one another, including the views of philosophers. According to Baruch Spinoza; “In the mind there is no absolute or free will; but the mind is determined to wish this or that by a cause, which has also been determined by another cause and this last by another cause, and so on to infinity”. This tells us why Spinoza and other hard determinists are called ‘hard’; their position is very strict. Hard determinists believe that all of our actions have prior causes and we are therefore neither free nor responsible, making hard determinism incompatible with free will and moral responsibility. John Locke provides an example which perfectly demonstrates how free will is simply an illusion. He states; ‘say a man wakes up in a room that, unknown to him, is locked from...
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...In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare in 1606, the text portrays power to be all consuming. This is shown through the themes of freewill vs fate, violence and tyranny and the supernatural vs natural. Macbeth follows Macbeth, who at the beginning is the protagonist, until power consumes his mind, leading him to do evil deeds and turning into the antagonist. The supernatural play a big part in Macbeth since they are the reason in motivating Macbeth’s desire for power. When Macbeth falls upon the witches, they say, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Cawdor,” (1.3.50) prophesising his fate as king. This is just the beginning of his desire for power since all the series of events that occur after this are due to his need to seize power....
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...Fate vs. Freewill Name Institution Introduction The question on what determines our actions or what determines the way we act in real life situation has been one of the most complex issues in the history of mankind. This is because there are diverse opinions among people on what determines our actions. Some people believe that human actions are determined by freewill. On the other hand, some people believe that human actions are determined by fate (Tucker, 1993). Indeed, a question of what determines human actions has baffled not only philosophers, but also the religious people, and different opinions are given with regard to the Fate vs. Freewill debate. First, there are those who strongly believe that human actions are determined by fate and this group normally comprise of religious people. For instance, they believe that God did not only create the universe, but He is also responsible for whatever is happening in the universe. In other words, they have a strong believe that whatever happens in human life is due to God’s will (Tucker, 1993). On the other hand, the proponents of freewill as a determinant of human actions believe that human beings are exclusively responsible for what happen in their own life. This is because everybody has the freedom to do what he/she wants and bear responsibilities of their actions. In other words, people who believe in freewill think of life as random and that there is nothing like destiny (Tucker, 1993). In addition, there are...
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...Topic: how fate and freewill were incorporated into the story and the roles they play Fateful Freewill Throughout the development of the world to how we see it today, the one thing that has united all societies and cultures is a belief in a higher power. Not all cultures believe in the same higher power but they all believe in something, they can all relate to believing in something bigger than themselves, not necessarily something they can see everyday and a tangible idea, but having faith in something. In the Greek culture and belief system the gods play a very important role in determining your fate. In Greek mythology, the Greek Gods are always very key, important figures throughout the story often becoming involved and interfering in the characters lives personally. The gods determine the paths of the characters—creating the characters’ fate. But the characters have to choose to embark on the journey, symbolizing their choice in free will. In the story of The Odyssey told by Homer, the gods have consistently intervened in the lives of Telemachos, Penelope, and Odysseus guiding them along their path chosen by the Gods but letting them have some choice in it. In some situations it is necessary for the Gods to intervene. In order to get the ball rolling for Telemachus, Athene had to go into disguise and persuade Telemachos to go on the journey. It was Telemachos fate to be reunited with his father, but it was his own freewill to choose how to go on a quest to find...
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...Arpit Kumbhat CTS Psychology Professor Annette Taylor Determinism Vs. Freewill Debate between determinism and free will has been going on for a very long time. Determinism is Determinism is the philosophical idea that every action, event or state of affairs, including every human action and decision, is the inevitable and necessary consequence of previously occurred state of events. In the world of science, determinism can likewise be comprehended along these lines: if in the happening of an occasion, a progression of variables are known, then it is conceivable to foresee a future result also. For instance, if one knows the propensities for a man towards a specific circumstance, say X, then it is conceivable to recognize what choice or step X will take next. Free will, as the name proposes, is the capacity of a man to go about as they wish, to pick any conceivable strategy. A great deal of tests have broadly inferred that unrestrained choice doesn't exist and is a deception. On the off chance that free will did exist, then it would imply that there is total control over our will, which is the thing that this paper will attempt and repudiate, utilizing the assistance of three texts; The Invisible Gorilla, Brainwashed and Influence. Determinism shapes the very premise of logic and actuality. For instance, biological determinism, likewise called genetic, is the real trick that every human conduct, convictions, and wishes are altered by human genetic nature. Take another...
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...How much control do we have over our own circumstances // fate vs. freewill The first case study is The Stanford Prison Experiment. Why doesn’t Philip Zimbardo stop the experiment after the guards violated an important rule? Philip Zimbardo doesn’t stop the experiment because he wanted to see the full effect the experiment would have to the participants. He also wanted to see how the guards and prisoners would handle the problem themselves. The experiment escalated with further problems happening, causing the experiment to end so shortly. Because of these problems it caused far more damage to the participants and everyone involved. Making the guards and prisoners, who were determined healthy and mentally stable, change into “pure evil” as Christina...
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...Numerous scientific findings, especially those from the field of neuroscience, show that most of our actions can be explained through external and internal factors such as genes, upbringing, the influence of peers, community influence or schooling (Swaab, 2016). This deterministic approach towards explaining one’s behavior inevitably questions the existence of free will and what responsibility our current legal system can assign to a criminal. Despite the doubts regarding existence of free will I share with those holding the deterministic position, I believe that legal system should be based on the publicly supported concept of free will since such a system would contribute to the maintenance of social order and perseverance of the inherited network of inter-personal relations on which basis our society operates. The society will be simply better off if the criminal justice system would be founded on the concept of free will even though it is highly probable that free will is just an illusion (Greene & Cohen, 2004). First, I will argue that free will should serve as basis for the legal system because it is appropriate from the public point of view. Second, I will explain why the new neuroscientific findings cannot alter the public perspective. In the second part of my essay I will explain why basing the legal system on the rationale of free will is beneficial for maintaining the social order and preserving the inter-personal relations. Greene and Cohen (2004) argue that most...
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...Determinism is the way things will be as a result of how things are and the work of natural laws. That is only to say that if we know exactly how things are at the present moment and the laws that govern how the world (or the universe) works, then we can derive how things will be at some future time. Bearing in mind that we've skirted over some problematic issues that we'll come back to, let's consider some examples. Now consider something that many people hope eventually to achieve, namely that all the laws of physics, or of nature, have been discovered and understood, along with the (hypothetical) situation wherein we know the position and other characteristics of all fundamental particles (whatever they may be) in the universe. We can then apply the laws to (again) determine how everything that follows for these particles will play out over time. (Whether this is possible in light of certain other theories in physics and elsewhere is not important for the purposes of our example.) Taking the first, what do we mean by "the way things are"? We can say that we are concerned with the state of the entire world, or universe, but why not take only a small portion instead? That would give us, say, determinism for a small region (or even particle) based on knowledge of how it will behave in future—a decidedly less ambitious endeavour. The problem here, though, is restricting the domain in this way: can we even do so at all? Although it may seem plausible initially, there are myriad...
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...The Importance of Thinking Critically and Creatively Active shooting and violence in the workplace can happen anywhere and anytime and the employer takes critical and sometimes creative action to resolve the situation. According to the FBI report entitled “Workplace Violence-Issues in Response” employers are legally obligated to provide a safe work environment that protects the safety and security of all employees whether civilian or military. This obligation is currently reinforced by both OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) and the Department of Civil Rights. Many active shooters have behavioral and mental health issues that remain undiagnosed and untreated. The compelling argument is whether violence in the workplace is preventable. Four people were killed and sixteen more were injured on April 2, 2014 when an active shooter opened fire at Fort Hood. The sprawling Army post in Texas was still on edge after a mass shooting there left 13 dead on November 5, 2009. Each time, the active shooters were diagnosed after the fact as having had prior mental conditions. A more proactive approach to recognizing and diagnosing PTSD could greatly minimize the number of active shootings on military installations. Early detection of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) could dramatically minimize the number of active shooter incidents throughout military installations. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is defined as a diagnosis that is fully accepted by the U.S. Veterans Administration...
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...A2 Ethics “Freewill is an illusion” Hard determinist John Locke believed “freedom is an illusion” as we appear to have moral choices, but we only think we choose freely because we do not know the causes that lie behind our choices. Free will and the importance of this suggestion are highly negotiated throughout history. Many philosophers hold different views regarding this suggestion “freewill is an illusion” and many are questioned due to this. Locke maintained that all actions have prior causes and humans are not free to act, our acts are determined. Everything we do is caused by something we cannot control. He illustrates his point of view by describing a sleeping man in a locked room, awakening and deciding to remain where he is, not realising the door in the room is locked. The illustration suggests that the man believes that he has a choice but he has no choice at all in reality. Hard determinism can be seen as a pessimistic view as events that have changed history such as the holocaust are seen as predetermined events therefore no one can be held blameworthy as Hitler was determined by prior causes to do as he did. Hitler does not have diminished responsibility, as he didn’t have a mental illness but he may have been in an extreme emotional state, he should be blameworthy for what he did but hard determinists appear to think differently. Does Hitler have diminished responsibility? As it could be suggested...
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...stop tapping her nails on the armrest of her chair. It has been three days since Matthew Xander’s trial began; the finally testimony and closing statements would be given today. All that remained was to determine if Matthew had killed his wife and three kids in a heartless premeditated manner, or if it was an uncontrollable rage brought on my his head injury months earlier. After closing statements you retreat with the other jurors to begin the deliberation. A quick vote produces groans, one third believes Matthew planned the murders, another third blames his injury, and the rest have not decided. The woman who sat behind you in the court room, Anna, stands up and begins a long rant on how his head injury is irrelevant to the murders. Freewill cannot be lost through any amount of trauma to the body. He freely chose to murder his family and the methodical method described by the prosecutor proves it was premeditated. Case closed. Being a student of philosophy, you recognized her view as that of an idealist. A blue-collar man, Joe, stands up and begins to protest such an “idiotic and simplistic” conclusion. The defendant’s brain had clearly suffered massive trauma in the car accident earlier in the year. The greatest amount of damage being to the amygdala; he cited the evidence given by one of the doctors who had been called to testify. The accident had caused a large tumor to press against the almond shaped gland responsible for emotions, including sudden rage impulses. The tests...
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...14169748 Word Count: 1132 RESPONSE TO FALLACIOUS SOLUTIONS 1 Response to Fallacious Solutions According to Robbins (2012), the problem of evil states that if God exists and he is omnibenevolent and omnipotent, he would eliminate all evil from the world. However, since evil obviously exists, as we see people suffering and bad things happening everyday, if God existed, and he was all-knowing and all-powerful there would be no evil in the world (Robbins, 2012). Mackie presents several solutions to the problem of evil that he deems fallacious. I will argue that "Good cannot exist without evil" and "Evil is due to human free will" are in fact adequate solutions to the problem of evil. Mackie (1955), defines God as an omnipotent and omnibenevolent being, meaning God is all-knowing and all-good, and should be able to eliminate all evil from the world, and yet evil exists all around us. Mackie (1955), defines evil as needless suffering. There is human evil, something done by people, to people and natural evil, like natural disasters. The first fallacious solution Mackie (1955), presents is "Good cannot exist without evil." 1. If God is omnipotent, he would be powerful enough to stop all evil. 2. Evil exists. Therefore, God is not omnipotent, or there are limits on God's omnipotence. The first premise states that if God were in fact omnipotent or all-powerful, then he should RESPONSE TO FALLACIOUS SOLUTIONS...
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...14169748 Word Count: 1132 RESPONSE TO FALLACIOUS SOLUTIONS 1 Response to Fallacious Solutions According to Robbins (2012), the problem of evil states that if God exists and he is omnibenevolent and omnipotent, he would eliminate all evil from the world. However, since evil obviously exists, as we see people suffering and bad things happening everyday, if God existed, and he was all-knowing and all-powerful there would be no evil in the world (Robbins, 2012). Mackie presents several solutions to the problem of evil that he deems fallacious. I will argue that "Good cannot exist without evil" and "Evil is due to human free will" are in fact adequate solutions to the problem of evil. Mackie (1955), defines God as an omnipotent and omnibenevolent being, meaning God is all-knowing and all-good, and should be able to eliminate all evil from the world, and yet evil exists all around us. Mackie (1955), defines evil as needless suffering. There is human evil, something done by people, to people and natural evil, like natural disasters. The first fallacious solution Mackie (1955), presents is "Good cannot exist without evil." 1. If God is omnipotent, he would be powerful enough to stop all evil. 2. Evil exists. Therefore, God is not omnipotent, or there are limits on God's omnipotence. The first premise states that if God were in fact omnipotent or all-powerful, then he should RESPONSE TO FALLACIOUS SOLUTIONS...
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...1.From the research I have done the question that comes to mind dose freewill exist. Science has contributed to the free will problem in at least three ways. First, physics has addressed the question whether nature is deterministic, which is viewed as crucial by incompatibilists (compatibilists, however, view it as irrelevant). Second, although free will can be defined in various ways, all of them involve aspects of the way people make decisions and initiate actions, which have been studied extensively by neuroscientists. Some of the experimental observations are widely viewed as implying that free will does not exist or is an illusion (but many philosophers see this as a misunderstanding). Third, psychologists have studied the beliefs that the majority of ordinary people hold about free will and its role in assigning moral responsibility. 3. According to my research it’s hard to say that freewill exist, but according to my belief and religion we are taught that every human being has freewill. I firmly believe in freewill because I was raised too. I also believe that our choices are influence by past and current conditions. Philosophers who distinguish freedom of action and freedom of will do so because our success in carrying out our ends depends in part on factors wholly beyond our control. Furthermore, there are always external constraints on the range of options we can meaningfully try to undertake. As the presence or absence of these conditions and constraints are not...
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...shattered by what he had done so he blinded himself by the power of Apollo and Iocaste his wife/biological mother committed suicide. The prophecy revealed what Oedipus destiny would be, he tried to avoid it with his freewill. Fate played role in everyone around Oedipus and himself. When Laios and Iocaste had Oedipus they took him to the Oracle at Delphi, there they were told of Oedipus’ destiny; to kill Laios and marry Iocaste. The couple decided to pierce his feet and abandon him on a mountainside by a Shepard. The Shepard did not follow through and gave Oedipus to a herdsman from Corinth, where he was then raised by Polybus and Merope. As Oedipus grew into a man he eventually discovered that he was not their biological son and also learned of the prophecy he was given. Fate then stepped in again when Oedipus tried to outsmart his destiny by feeling to Thebes from Corinth. He then ended up at a division of three roads; he chose one which then led him to the murder of Laios. After that he ends up in Thebes and marries Iocaste. The choices Oedipus made played role as freewill which reflected his destiny. Oedipus’ destiny could have been avoided from his birth. King Laios had the freewill to kill Oedipus himself but instead he gave him to a Shepard. The Shepard had the freewill to leave him alone to die but...
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