Free Will VS Determinism

Free will

The view that humans can make complete choice and are not determined by biological or external forces. However, doesn’t deny these factors, just simply rejects them.

Humanist Free Will

Humans have personal agency so we have control over the choices we make.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs + Roger’s client-centred therapy.

Cognition and Free Will

Information that comes in through our senses is processed by attention, memory which requires us to exercise our free will.

Strength of free will

Face validity. We are constantly exercising free will through the decisions we make everyday.

Roberts et al - Supporting

People who have an internal locus of control tend to have a higher degree of influence over their decisions and behaviour.

Adolescents with strong belief in fatalism were at a greater risk of developing depression.

Chun Sion Soon et al - Contradictory

The choices we make have already happened ahead of time. The outcome of a decisions can be encoded in the prefrontal and parietal cortex 10 seconds before it enters awareness. We may not have as much free will.

Scientific emphasis on causal explanations

The use of lab experiments helps to remove extraneous variables to establish cause and effect.

This suggests that any deviation from Hard Determinism decreases the scientific emphasis of research.

HOWEVER, we suggest that everything has a cause even if it is unknown yet it is impossible to prove wrong making determinism unfalsifiable, therefore possibly unscientific too?

Determinism

The view that an individual's behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individual's will to do something

Hard Determinism

Implies free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused by internal or external events beyond our control

Soft Determinism

All events, including human behaviour have causes, but behaviour can also be determined by our conscious choices in the absence of coercion

Biological Determinism

The belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences we can’t control eg. genetic, hormonal, evolutionary

Psychic Determinism

The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we can't control eg. repressed thoughts

Environmental Determinism

The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment that we can't control eg. society

Soft Determinism

Behaviour is determined by a person’s own choices even though it can be controlled by some factors which provide causation, it is free from coercion.

Strength of determinism - Supporting

People who experience schizophrenia have a total loss of control over their thoughts and behaviours, casting a doubt on free will because no one chooses to have a mental illness. Therefore, it is determined.

Limitation of determinism - Opposing

Unfalsifiable because it suggests causes of behaviour will always exist even though we may not know the cause. So it may not be as scientific as it appears.

Strength of determinism - soft determinism

Soft determinism is the best compromise in the free will-determinism debate because although environmental factors are key, we are free to choose as well.