hard determinism

what is hard determinism?

• all events = causally inevitable, result of past choices

• incompatibilism

3 types of hard determinism

• theological determinism

• psychological determinism

• scientific determinism

theological determinism

all events predestined by divine beings

AUGUSTINE’s theological determinism

• double predestination

  • God chooses who will be saved / damned

• good actions = God’s grace

• bad actions = predisposition to sin

critiques of theological determinism

• scripture states God gave humans freewill to face Day of Judgement

  • BUT, book of Romans = no freewill

• undermines God’s omnibenevolence

  • BUT, aligns with omniscience, omnipotence

• undermines God’s justness

• Jesus’ death pointless

scholars for psychological determinism

• FREUD

• SKINNER

FREUD on psychological determinism

• actions determined by childhood experiences

• BUT, can act contrary to upbringing

SKINNER on psychological determinism

• operant conditioning

  • behaviour shaped by consequences (positive reinforcement, punishment)

• Skinner box experiment

  • rats learned to perform actions to receive rewards / avoid shocks

scientific determinism

genetics

• predisposed fears / instincts

• selfish game theory

  • what we think is moral choice is genetic drive for reproductive success

what undermines scientific determinism?

HEISENBURG’s uncertainty principle (quantum mechanics)

• not everything can be determined

• universe = probabilistic, not fully predictable

BUT, if actions happened due to quantum mechanics, hardly seems a better proof of freewill than determinism

arguments against determinism as a whole

• justice system requires people to have some degree of responsibility based on freewill

• CHURCHLAND - not a question of whether we are free, but how much control we have in scenario