free will and determinism

• free will

  the notion that humans can make choices and their behaviour/thoughts aren't determined by biological or external forces
• what approach advocates free will?

  humanistic approach
• determinism

  the view that an individuals behaviour is shaped by internal or external forces rather than an individuals will to do something
• soft determinism

  the view that behaviour may be caused by internal/external factors but there is also room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities - restricted free will
• what is soft determinism a feature of ?

  the cognitive approach
• hard determinism

  the view that all behaviour is caused by internal and external factors

  free will is an illusion

  fatalism
• three types of determinism

  biological , environmental , psychic
• biological determinism

  the belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal etc) influences that we can't control
• environmental determinism

  the belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment that we can't control

  eg. conditioning and reinforcement
• psychic determinism

  the belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts that we can't control
• the scientific emphasis on casual explanations

  one of the basic principles of science is that every element in the universe has a cause and these causes can be explained by general laws - hard determinism
• limitation of free will

  one limitation of free will is that brain scans evidence don't support free will but does support determinism

  this may mean that even our most basic experiences are actually determined by the brain
• strength of free will

  one strength of free will rather than determinism is its practical value

  Roberts found that adults who believed in determinism were at a greater risk of depression

  this suggests that the fact we believe in free will may have positive impacts on the mind and behaviour