Free Will and Determinism

Free Will and Determinism

1. Hard Determinism

   • Humans are within the physical laws that govern the universe
     • All things are physical
     • Human beings are conditioned by forces outside of our control
       • The decisions we make are determined by physical laws of cause and effect
         • We do not have free will - we do not have moral responsibility
           • Locke and the room analogy -
             • An individual is in a room which they believe they can get out of, but are choosing not to - they do not realise that the door is locked. They are unable to escape anyway, but are under the illusion that they can if they choose
               • This is the illusion of free will - we believe we have choices without understanding that everything we 'choose' to do is predetermined anyway
                 • Darrow
                   • Leopold + Leob
                     • Murder of Bobby Franks - under influence of Nietzche
                       • Considered themselves Ubermenches
                         • Conditioned by rich parents -Darrow argued nor morally responsible - saved capital punishment
                 • Honderich
                   • Well known hard determinist - free will and determinism incompatible

2. Soft Determinism (Compatibilism)

   • Accepts that we are determined by physical laws etc, but argues this is compatible with freedom and moral responsibility
     • Argues that freedom is when a persons actions correspond with their desires and impulses
       • Internal and external causation - an individual is acting 'freely' when they choose to do an action willingly without external causation - being forced etc- this is when they have moral responsibility and are free - internal actions
         • External actions are actions that a person commits due to external force - being told to or threatened to do something - they do not have freedom and are not morally responsible
           • 'Active self determinism - we have choose to act independent of past conditioning or culture because we are 'self aware'.
             • Passive Self -determinism - when a person is forced to do something and the cause does not originate from the individual performing the action
               • Called 'compatibilism' because free will and moral responsibility is compatible with determinism
                 • Locke
                 • Hume

3. Libertarianism (Non-compatibilism)

   • The idea that humans are able to exercise free will when making decisions
     • Thomas Reid - common -sense philosophy
       • Accepted to to an extent humans are limited by nature - but this does not effect our ability to make free autonomous choices
         • Everyone is morally responsible for their actions - what ever actions is committed the individual is held morally responsible
           • Libertarianism led to emegerence of capitalism - Adam Smith - idea that all people had the free will to reach their economic potential and were not determined by external causes out of their control
             • Reid

4. Theological determinism

   • Religious predestination - John Calvin - protestant determinsim
     • Calvin thought that God determined all individuals on earth and thus we do not have free will, despite the Bible's teaching of God giving humans autonomous free will
       • Thought that Bible demonstrated that the good loyal Christians were few, and the disloyal and unfaithful were numerous
         • Thought that this was God's plan
           • "For many are called, but few are chosen"
           • God created the many to be unfaithful and to be predestined to hell - THE DAMNED
             • The few - he created to be faithful and go to Heaven - THE ELECT
               • Benefits might be that Calvin saw theological pre determinism as taking authority away from the Catholic church - that preached free will
             • Criticisms might be that moral actions in life are irrespective - they do not matter - as all humans are already predetermined to go to Heaven or Hell, so they might as well live as they want
               • Calvin
                 • Luther