free will and determinism

• free will definition

  people are essentially self determining and we choose our own thoughts and actions

  people are active

  behaviour isn't predictable
• determinism definition

  people are governed by internal and external factors

  people are passive

  freewill is an illusion

  behaviour can be predicted
• soft determinism definition

  events can be determined but we have the freedom to make rational conscious choices in everyday life. combines freewill and determinism
• hard determinism definition

  all human behaviour has a cause and it should be possible to identify and describe said cause

  aka fatalism

  everything we do is dictated by internal or external factors

  science is dependent on fatalism
• environmental determinism

  all human behaviour is caused by our previous experience

  learned through conditioning

  e.g learning theory
• psychic determinism

  all human behaviour is caused by repressed childhood conflicts and innate drives

  e.g freudian slips are determined by the unconscious
• biological determinism

  all human behaviour is innate and determined by our brain and body

  e.g biological approach, OCD is caused by fault SERT gene
• freewill vs determinism debate

  the extent to which we have control over our behaviours
• freewill vs determinism - evaluation. positive contributions

  determinism has led to positive contributions within society

  determinism is consistent with science's aims

  human behaviour being orderly and obeying laws places psychology on an equal footing as established science. predictions allow solutions

  determinism has led to positive scientific contributions like funding of treatment for cures which wouldn't have happened if the focus was on the individual to get better
• freewill vs determinism - evaluation. no evidence

  there is no evidence supporting determinism

  humanistic approach is more accurate. humans are not cause and effect, a myriad of factors are part of our lives. not everything has just one cause. for example, even MZ concordance rate for SZ is just 48% - other factors at play

  it demonstrates there isn't evidence for a fully hard deterministic view
• freewill vs determinism - evaluation. counterpoint to no evidence

  there is evidence against freewill

  libet and soon - brain activity may determine choices. simple choices may predate our knowledge of having such choice. asked P's to press a left or right button

  even our most basic human experiences may be determined
• freewill vs determinism - evaluation. the legal system

  determinism isn't compatible with the legal system in terms of responsibility

  hard determinism holds behaviours isn't the result of individual choice, whereas in a court of law the aim is to hold offenders responsible for their actions

  e.g stephen mobley - murderer but concluded he was genetically predisposed to seeking violence through brain scans

  therefore there is no intention to commit the crime if it is down to biology