Introduction to Determinism and free will

what do some people believe about moral choices, what ways is this belief approached? 

• Some believe that people are limited in the moral choices they can make or they are unable to make any moral choices

• This is approached in the following ways:

• Religious concepts of of predestination

• Hard determinism

• Soft determinism

What are the religious concepts of predestination?

• Some call this fate/destiny

• Religious determinism revolves around the idea that God is sovereign over all things - including humanity.

• Therefore, humanities free will is limited by the determining power of God.

• There are two man religious concepts of predestination - the teachings of St Augustine and John Calvin

What are the two non-religious views of determinism?

• The 2 non religious views of determinism are called:

• Hard determinism - (Philosophical, scientific, and psychological) - the belief that humanity has absolutely no free will i.e. humanities moral choices are 100% determined

• Soft determinism - The belief that humanity only has patrial free will i.e. humanities moral choices are only partly determined 

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