Hard Determinism Essay example - 801 Words

Hard Determinism There are several viewpoints which consider whether we are free when making decisions and taking courses of action. One of these perspectives is hard determinism. J. Mackie described hard determinism as: The view that all actions are explicable in terms of their causes and are therefore inevitable (J. Mackie) This outlines the basic idea that no action or decision is free. This is based upon the notion that for an action to happen there are a series of factors that ensure the occurrence of that action: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦all our choices, decisions, intentions, other mental events, and our actions are no more than effects of other necessitated events (T. Honderich)†¦show more content†¦Other, possibly trivial, aspects such as the weather or having a certain piece of clothing clean would determine the choice made. The philosopher Van Inwagen elaborated upon this initial idea of past events effecting current decisions: My action today is the consequence of a causal circumstance in the remote past before I was born (Van Inwagen) He believed that previous events even prior to birth could effect the decisions made in our life now. Sigmund Freud first suggested the notion of psychological conditioning that would, again, condition our decisions and actions. He separated the human psyche into three parts; the Id, Ego and Super-Ego. The Id is our child hood desires to seek pleasure and avoid pain and demands immediate gratification, the Super-Ego is the ideals we would like to create in society, whilst the Ego moderates the two due to being governed by the reality principle. It is then that our motives and desires emerge subconsciously from the psyche, usually as a result of suppressed feelings which emerge later in life. Carl Jung furthered Freuds theory stating that the choices that we are conscious of making (the individual consciousness) are affected by the individual, cultural and universal subconscious. The individual subconscious is a personal aspect that we areShow MoreRelatedDeterminism, Hard And Soft887 Words   |  4 Pages Determinism: According to Sappington (1990) there are two types of determinism, hard and soft. He states that those who hold hard determinism say that human behavior is completely determined by outside factors and that ideas such a free will or moral responsibility are meaningless. Many famous psychologists take this approach such as Freud who believed that people’s behavior is controlled by unconscious factors and any conscious reasons given are simply the brain rationalizing actions to the superegoRead MoreHard Determinism Vs. Negatives943 Words   |  4 PagesOne of these ideas, hard determinism, has presented alleged positives and alleged negatives. One alleged negative that stands out to me is that no single person is responsible for their actions, no matter how heinous that action may be. I argue, that throwing morality completely out of the equation, is a genuine negative of hard determinism. In order to explain my thoughts, we must first understand the full meaning of hard determinism. In Holbach’s essay on hard determinism, he says, â€Å"NeverthelessRead MoreSaving Morality: The Implications of Hard Determinism 1116 Words   |  5 PagesHard determinism, the acceptance of determinism and the rejection of libertarian free will, results in some serious consequences for moral responsibility. At its most extreme interpretation a form of moral nihilism arises. †Without God ... everything is permitted now.†[1] That is, if determinism holds true, then there is no free choice, and without free choice there can be no moral responsibility. By taking hard determinism to its logical conclusion, and evaluating the results of a steadfast adherenceRead MoreSupport and Contradictions of Hard Determinism and Libertarianism630 Words   |  2 Pagesfutures. The thesis of determinism seems to contradict ordinary experiences, whereas the theory of libertarianism disregards event-causation. Philosopher Walter T. Stace proposed an alternative compatibilist philosophy. In order to recognize the ways in which Stace effectively amalgamates the two thesis utilizing his campatibilist approach, an objective examination of the three ideas is compulsory. The following article will define the support and contradictions of hard determinism and libertarianismRead MoreDefending Hard Determinism Against the Strongest Objections Raised Against It1161 Words   |  5 PagesDefending Hard Determinism Against the Strongest Objections Raised Against It In this academic essay there will be a clear and defined description of both hard determinism and its eventual nemesis indeterminism. Based on these definitions there will be a personal attempt at denying hard determinism. This will be accomplished through the introduction of David Hume and his radical philosophy on causality and the relation this may have on hard determinism, as well as theRead MoreThe Scientific Arguments Which Contain Freedom And Soft And Hard Determinism3111 Words   |  13 Pagesextraordinarily complicated machine.† (Wegner, 2002) To answer the question, it requires we define free will and determinism. This question can be approached from numerous directions: From Libet and Wegner’s scientific data as well as metaphysical results and Dennett’s arguments to those results. This essay will study the scientific arguments which contain freedom and soft/hard determinism. The first section of the essay I will provide definitions of the terms and give data presented by Libet and WegnerRead MoreDefense of Hard Determinism1100 Words   |  5 PagesOF HARD DETERMINISM Hard Determinism argues that every event is causally determined. For an event ‘A’ to occur casually means that there are antecedent causes that ensure the occurrence of ‘A’ in accordance with impersonal, mechanical causal laws. To clarify hard determinism further, let me present hard determinism as an argument. Basically hard determinism argues that: (a) Determinism is true (b) Determinism is incompatible with free will (Holbach, 451). In defense of premise (a), the hard deterministRead MoreDeterminism And Its Effects On Society957 Words   |  4 PagesDeterminism claims that all events are inevitable to have certain results at the end, since conditions are met and nothing else would occur. And it could apply to everything in the universe with causal laws. With the discovering laws, we could make predictions. Over the years, there are more than one determinism been developed over time. Hard determinism claims all the actions of human beings or consequences of events are determined by external conditions, with such conditions satisfied there willRead MoreEssay on Freedom-Determinism debate1689 Words   |  7 PagesFreedom-Determinism Debate The controversy between freewill and determinism has been argued about for years. Freewill is defined as the belief that our behaviour is under our own control and do not act in response to any internal or external factors. Freewill has been found to have four different conditions and to have freewill at least two conditions must be obtained, these are; people have a choice on their actions, have not been coerced by anything or anyone, have full voluntary and deliberateRead MoreFree Will and Libertanianism View1101 Words   |  4 Pagesfree will and I do not accept determinism. Free will is defined as the ability to make decisions at your own discretion. Determinism is defined as the events of the past, in conjunction with the laws of nature, necessitate every event in the future. What determinism means is that past events and the laws of nature are the factors that dictate what decision will be chosen. The libertarianism view accepts incompatibilism. Incompatibilism states that fr ee will and determinism are incompatible and cannot