Free Will and Determinism

Free Will and Determinism

1. Determinism - Everything is determined and we are not morally responsible for our actions

2. Libertarianism - Nothing is determined, we are totally free and as such we are morally responsible for our actions

3. Soft Determinism - attempts to combine the two bringing freedom and accountability together with the sense that choices are pre-determined by prior events

4. Compatabilists

   • Determinism does not rule out free wil
   • If events are totally random then free will is impossible as there is no control over choices

5. Dilemma of Free Will

   • Free Will is inconsistent with determinism
   • Free will seems to require determinism

6. David Hume

   • Hume argued that events are determined because of a casual link between objects
   • This casual link Hume calls the constant union of objects
   • These casual links which are determined lead onto human free will
   • Predetermined events, which you cannot control, create free choice

7. Strengths

   • Soft determinism allows for creativity in our choices, so not all our choices are the result of existing desires and habits
   • It recognises the importance of moral responsibility in society
   • It also recognises that it is unreasonable to hold a person responsible for actions caused by their emotions and beliefs if they have no choice about having them

8. Weaknesses

   • How many causes can actually be said to originate with human beings?
   • Ultimate causes are out of human's control
   • Libertarians criticise soft determinists for failing to realise the true extent of human freedom