Free Will v Determinism - AO3

• Free will


  Exercised through everyday experience; believing in free will makes you mentally happier
• Having an internal locus of control


  Most important for free will
• Free will is not supported by brain studies (our brains make decisions before we are aware of them)
• Siong Soon et al 2008: 'Brain activity before conscious decision'
• What we think is free will

  Is predetermined
• Libet et al.: 'Motor regions of the brain become active before a person registers conscious awareness of decision, e.g. the decision to move finger is pre - determined by action of the brain, may predate our knowledge of having made such a choice'
• This shows that even our most basic experiences of free will are devised and determined by our brain before we become aware of them, illusion belief may be correct
• Research for free will

  • People who have an internal locus of control believing that they have a high degree of influence over events and their own behaviour, tend to be more mentally healthy
• Roberts et al. (2000): 'Adolescents with a strong belief in fatalism - that their lives were 'decided' by events outside of their control - were at significantly greater risk of developing depression'
• This suggests that, even if we do not have free will, the fact that we think we do may have a positive impact on mind and behaviour
• Many psychologists, theorists and legal experts do not favour a deterministic point of view, since, if behaviour is determined by outside forces, that provides a potential excuse for criminal acts
• A hard Determinism position may be undesirable as it provides an 'excuse', allowing people to mitigate their liability and could lead to vexing legal issues regarding the nature of responsibility and intent
• Offenders are held morally accountable for their actions