Free will vs. Determinism

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Introduction

Free will is the ability of a person to decide and behave independently without any external influence. In this case decision making is only influenced by the will of a person. The humanistic approach holds that free will determines human behavior through the life of a person. On the other hand, determinism is the common believe that human behavior is determined by past events and external forces. Schnauder (2007) asserts that this phenomenon holds that human behavior is determined by childhood events and that the free will practiced in adulthood is illusory. Free will is believed to be a gift from God .Free will is crucial in a society especially the legal system. Free will helps the jury determine pre-meditation hence free will of commission of a crime by a person. This is the reason for acquitting incapacitated people from charges leveled against them. The other aspect is that there is a controversy concerning man’s pre-determination to act in a particular manner. God is sovereign and supreme hence this view can be held to be true ( HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Richard+Langdon+Franklin%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CEQQ9AgwBA&biw=1280&bih=697” Franklin, 2007). However, a discussion outside a theologian confinement, will establishment that man has free will and can make personal goals in a bid to attain self-actualization in life. Philosophy has a correlation to man’s feelings, perceptions, responsibilities and thought processes. In this regard, man must always understand himself before influencing the environment around him.

Augustine’s view

Augustine advocates for both free will and determinism as determinants of human behaviour. This owes to the fact of foreknowledge of god pertaining the fall of man. This compelled Augustine to devise an empirical hypothesis and biblical defence of free will. He argues that there is compatibility between free will and the sovereignty of God. Campbell, ‎ Rourk, and ‎ Shier (2010) posit that free will for the human beings is subject to the human experiences. According to him, man has free will because an upright man cannot do right things if he or she is not willing to act rightly.in addition, god’s oracles dictate that man must act out of free will to obey god.in this regard, god will reward the righteous according to their good deeds and the evil according to their evil deeds. According to Pereboom (2009), man’s free will and God’s sovereignty in determinism are interlinked. Augustine argues that disagreement between the believers and non-believers can be resolved by adherence to the principle of reason. This is because reason provides sufficient evidence and rationality in the physical world. He believes that any philosopher of religion should not have a neutral position on the issues bordering Christianity. According to HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Perry+D.+Westbrook%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CFIQ9AgwBw&biw=1280&bih=697” Westbrook (2012), Christian principles ought to be applied in a religious controversy. Moreover, theistic belief does not need to be supported by substantial evidence in order for it to be true. Augustine argues that the traditional views on the existence of God were not fallacious. In addition, he claims that there are no good and bad theistic arguments with regard to the sovereignty of God. HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22John+Lemos%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CFYQ9AgwCA&biw=1280&bih=697” Lemos (2013) posits that the determinist view guarantees rationality and objectivity in a religious philosophical work. Augustine does not support this school of thought. He does not believe that every non-believer has actual knowledge of God. However, he argues that belief in God is acquired only in specific circumstances. Augustine’s ecstasy is based on the intellect and neutrality with regard to the determinism and free will and the Christian apologetic aspect. He has also reservations are based on his skepticism of determinism proponents and his view that natural theology is superfluous.

Sigmund Freud

According to Freud, individual thought process is usually unconscious .In this regard, he believes that the behavior of a person is as a result of interaction between the ego and the superego of a person and the unconscious part of psyche of a person. According to Berofsky (2012), Freud psychosocial development enhances development of purpose and personality of a child .It encompasses the development of independency, sense of humor; sense of identity the sense of fortitude and the ways through which these needs are met in interactions with other people. Children of the three to four years of age have acquired a fairly strong cognitive grasp of what constitutes the aspect of emotions. In addition, they have the ability to distinguish negligible differences in different feelings like irritable versus angry, gloomy versus annoyed. They must struggle with uncertainty, and indecisiveness. This is the eventuality regardless of possession of the ability to think in the abstract and engage in metacognition which is the thinking about their thought processes. Feelings may be quite intense and confusing for these children.

HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Gregg+D.+Caruso%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CDkQ9AgwAg&biw=1280&bih=697” Caruso (2012) conjectures that a human being is just an agent through which unconscious forces of the mind act. They also share on the socio-cultural influence on a person’s character. This was developed in negating Freud’s position, which underestimated the impact of socio-cultural effect on a person’s character. Freud is of the view that external forces influence person’s response to the world. Freud claims that human freedom does not need be influenced by Biblical Christian oracles but on human liberty and free will .He believes in human freedom and God’s sovereignty. His predecessors argue that human freedom and divine sovereignty are guided by Biblical principles ( HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22John+Lemos%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CFYQ9AgwCA&biw=1280&bih=697” Lemos , 2013) .Freud advocates for determinism and argues that human behavior is determined by the perfect will of God. In this regard, he establishes a relationship between metaphysics and the study of epistemology. This implies that there should be a correlation between knowledge and reality. According to Berofsky (2012), Freud interlinks human behavior to scientific discoveries and knowledge of existence of God, the Almighty. In addition, he argues that the study of being results to dismissal of the study of knowledge given that human behavior must be explained by theoretical knowledge. He employs analytical skills and dexterity in his arguments, which commands more appeal.

Personal opinion

My view is that individuals usually make independent decisions out of free will hence the need to embrace the free will as a determinant of human behavior. However, the external forces are equally ital. in the many decisions arrived at, by man. In fact, most decisions and behaviors exhibited by man are as a result of past experience. For instance, the legal decisions made in the modern times are subject to precedents made many years ago. This reveals that the deterministic view is indispensable in human life. In addition, the psychodynamic theory also puts into perspective the aspect of determinism. This theory holds that human behavior is pegged upon the childhood experiences of a child. Therefore, there is need to incorporate both perspectives in human behavior because both views perfectly apply in determination of human behavior and future decisions .decision making can be subjectively or independently made by a person. Some decisions are based upon past events or some external aspects .For instance, when we are born we have a canvas which has a certain design on it which cannot be changed. This makes the human being determined and we have the 3 basic colors of ,which we can chose to color a painting as we choose out of our freewill .moreover, we can mix the colors to have more colors through our own volition. These decisions perfectly belong to the determinism theory. However, the decisions made out of a person’s own judgment independent of past events or external factors. This may be almost impossible because a decision must be based upon a reason, which apparently must involve past events or some internal or external aspect.

Conclusion

All the views indicate that human beings being and behavior is influenced by both determinism and free will hence an interactionist approach is to be applied in determining the human behavior. Although both views have weaknesses it is apparent that both apply in the human behavior. The aspect of moral accountability does not augur well with the determinism theory given that the determinism theory holds that a human being’s decision making is subject to external forces and natural laws. Free will is a vital aspect of a legal system hence the determinism view does not count given that legal cases involve the free will of the accused person. The reason for contradiction of either of the views is that whereas the universe is presumed to be deterministic in nature human beings are not deterministic .This owes to the fact that human beings can freely decide and make informed decisions.

References

Schnauder. L. (2007). HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=g_rZp_XYO3sC&printsec=frontcover&dq=free+will+VS.+Determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=19eDUq3rG8WJtAah4oDQDw&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAw” Moral Responsibility: Beyond Free Will and Determinism. Cornell

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HYPERLINK “https://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-beta&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=bks&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Richard+Langdon+Franklin%22&sa=X&ei=PlWEUqG4BdHMtAb8-YGwCw&ved=0CEQQ9AgwBA&biw=1280&bih=697” Franklin.R.L. (2007). HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=51wIAQAAIAAJ&q=free+will+VS.+Determinism&dq=free+will+VS.+Determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=19eDUq3rG8WJtAah4oDQDw&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBA” Freewill and determinism: a study of rival conceptions of man

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Campbell.J.K., ‎ Rourke.M, and ‎ Shier .D.(2010). HYPERLINK “http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=zydkUGosAJcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=free+will+VS.+Determinism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=19eDUq3rG8WJtAah4oDQDw&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBQ” Freedom and Determinism. Hoboken, N.J.,

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