free will/ determinism

• free will 


  human beings are self-determining and free to choose their thoughts and actions
• determinism 


  that free will has no place in explaining behaviour
• what are the types of determanism

  hard and soft
• hard determinism (fataliam)


  suggests that human behaviour has a cause and principle, it should be possible to identify and describe these causes
• soft determinism 


  whilst acknowledging that all human action has a cause, it also suggests that people have conscious mental control over the way they behave.
• Biological determanism 


  the belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal, evolutionary) influences that we cannot control
• environmental determinism 


  argues that all behaviour is a result of conditioning and is shaped by environmental events
• psychic determinism 


  sees human behaviour as determined and directed by unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood
• the concept of free will might be damaging to a person suffering from severe mental health that they have 'chosen their situation'
• psychologists have argued that a deterministic approach may be more human than free will as it might make people feel better if they think their genetics cause their mental illness.
• the humanistic approach argues that beliving we are in control of our own lives improves our well being.
• research has shown that those with internal local control are happier and less at risk for depression. more ethical to use free will to explain behaviour.
• however, if our behaviour was determinist there is a large-scale societal repercussions to follow

  • punishment and incarceration begin to look human
• determinism makes recovery look unlikely

  • Bowlby's argumentent that maternally deprived children will be 'affentionless psychopaths' gives us no hope for future recover
  • offers a bleak future