Free will vs Reductionism

• What is FREE WILL?

  • Humans exercise free choice to make decisions
  • Biological and environmental influences exert some influence on the decisions we make but we are essentially in control of our own thoughts/behaviour
• What is DETERMINISM?

  our actions are not determined by us, but by external factors
• What are the types of determinism?

  • Hard determinism
  • Soft determinism
  • Biological determinism
  • Environmental determinism
  • Psychic determinism
• What is Hard Determinism?

  • Also known as fatalism
  • Suggests all human behaviour is caused by something, which can be found

  Human thought and behaviour is dictated by internal and external factors outside our control
• What is soft determinism?

  • William james
  • Scientist can find out and explain what determines behaviour, but we still have the ability to make conscious decisions everyday
  • E.g cognitive approach
• What is biological determinism?

  • Biological influences outside our control dictate behaviour
  • E.g genetic, hormonal, evolutionary
  • Autonomic nervous system on stress
  • Influence of genes on mental health
• What is environmental determinism?

  • Environment influences our behaviour
  • Conditioning: system of reward and punishment act upon us and infringes on our ‘choice’ of behaviour

  B.F Skinner called free will ‘an illusion’
• What is psychic determinism?

  • Behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts
  • Freud emphasised significance of biological drives and instincts
  • Unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood (psycho-sexual stages) influence behaviour
• What is an example of psychic determinism?

  Something as simple as a ‘slip of the tongue’ is psychically determined - Freudian slip
• What is the scientific emphasis on causal relationships?

  Every event in the universe has a cause, these causes can be explained by general laws
• What is a causal relationship between?

  Independent Variable and Dependent Variable
• which approach is most linked to free will?

  Humanistic Approach - Maslow, Rogers
• Which approach is most closelu linked to psychic deterministic?

  psychodynamic approach
• Which approaches are most closely linked to hard determinism?

  Biological and Learning
• Which 2 approaches are most closely linked with soft determinism?

  cognitive and SLT
• Research (against free will, for determinism): Libert (1985)


  FMRI scans showing decisions made before conscious awareness

  Our brain may unconsciously be determining actions we take - even the most basic ones such as flicking the wrist, before we consciously make the move.
• What is a counter to Libert's research?

  Unconscious brain activity does not take away from free will. Makes sense (face validity) that the brain is involved. Conscious awareness is simply a ‘read-out’ of unconscious decision making.
• Research (against determinism)

  Identical twin research showed that despite the same DNA and Experiences, there was a lower than 100% concordance rate for schizophrenia - other factors
• Why is free will important?

  impacts on criminal justice/ religion
• Practical value (against determinism, for free will)

  Rebecca Roberts et al (2000)

  • Observed adolescents who believed their lives were dictated by events outside of their control (fatalism)
  • These participants significantly more likely to suffer from depression