Free will and determinism

• What's free wil?


  The notion that humans are free to choose their actions and thoughts. It is not determined by biological or external forces
• What's determinism ?

  The view that an individual's behaviour is controlled by internal or external forces rather than their will to do something.
• Versions of determinism 


  Soft determinism and hard determinism
• What's soft determinism?

  Developed by James 1890 explaining that behaviours are predictable because they have internal and external causes but there's a degree of free wil present
• What's hard determinsm?

  Also known as fatalism, explains that all behaviours have internal and external causes that are out of our control.
• Types of determinism 


  Biological

  Environmental

  Psychic
• What is biological determinism ?

  Refers that behaviour is caused by biological influences such as genes, hormones.
• What's environmental determinism ?

  Refers that behaviour is caused by features of the environment [such a system of reward and punishment] that we cannot control.
• What's Psychic determinism?

  Refers that behavious is controlled by unconscious factors we can't control [repressed conflicts, innate drives]
• causal explanation


  It's the scientific principle that everything has a cause [determinism] and these can be discorvered [lab experiments] and explained using general laws. These general laws allows researchers to predict and control the future.
• evaluation

  Roberts et al. 2000 - teenagers with fatalism beliefs are more likely to develop depression

  Libet et al 1983 - brain activity of choosing what hand to use

  Determinism provides potential excuse for criminal acts [Mobley]
• Libet et al 1983

  found that activity related to whether to press a button with the left or right hand is shown in the brain scan of participants before they report being consciously aware of making such a decision.
• Roberts et al 2000


  found that adolescents who had a strong belief in fatalism [no free will] were more likely to develop depression, whereas those who belief in an internal locus of control are more likely to be more optimistic. Believing we have free will has a positive impact on mind.  
• Deterministic provides potential excuses for criminal acts


  Hard determinism is undesirable as criminals can avoid accountability for their behaviour, such as Mobley argued e was ‘born to kill’ because his family had a disposition towards violence and aggressivity.