Determinism
Determinism is a philosophical concept suggesting that all events, including human actions, are determined by preceding events in accordance with natural laws. Proponents, such as philosophers and scientists like Leucippus and Pierre-Simon Laplace, argue that if one had complete knowledge of these laws, it would be possible to predict all future events. Determinism is often categorized into hard and soft versions. Hard determinism posits that all actions are the result of scientific laws and that free will is an illusion; thus, individuals cannot be held morally responsible for their actions. In contrast, soft determinism allows for a form of free will, suggesting that while choices may be predetermined, individuals can act freely when external constraints do not impede their desires. An opposing view, indeterminism, argues that not all events are causally determined, allowing for genuine free will and moral responsibility. This debate raises important questions about human agency and the nature of responsibility, appealing to diverse perspectives across philosophical and psychological fields.
Determinism
Determinism is a school of thought supported by philosophers and scientists such as Leucippus, Democritus, Baron d’Holbach, Pierre-Simon Laplace, and many others. Determinists believe that all actions in the universe are part of a predictable, unbroken chain of events. Because of this, they feel that free will is little more than an illusion. Determinism is usually divided into hard determinism and soft determinism.
Hard Determinism
Hard determinism, also called scientific determinism, asserts that all events, including human actions, are simply the result of the world behaving in accordance with scientific laws. Hard determinists argue that if humans fully understood the laws of nature, they would be able to predict every event from now until the end of time and reconstruct every event from the beginning of time to the present.
Followers of the school of hard determinism contend that the human brain obeys the laws of science, and that human thought is nothing more than a series of chemical and electrical reactions in the brain. Although people may feel that they have a choice in how they react to an environmental stimulus, hard determinists believe there is only one way the human brain will react to a given situation. They assert that people cannot truly choose their actions. Therefore, people are not morally responsible for any of their choices because they physically could not have acted in any other way. According to hard determinists, there is no such thing as a good person or a bad person, only different sets of chemical reactions influencing other chemical reactions.
Hard determinists believe that human reactions to stimuli are influenced by a variety of biological factors. The first of these factors is hereditary genes. A person’s genetic makeup imbues that person with certain tendencies, which, in most cases, the person will act on. Genetics also influences a person’s physical attributes, which determine the range of actions available to that person. Hard determinists believe that behavioral conditioning plays a large role in people’s lives as well. Behavioral conditioning refers to gradually conditioning a person to respond to a certain stimulus in a certain manner. For example, if an action causes pain, a person is usually less likely to repeat that action. This school of thought is called behavioral determinism.
The psychologist B. F. Skinner was a proponent of behavioral determinism. Skinner was a prominent psychologist who trained animals to have specific unnatural reactions to certain stimuli. His theory, called operant conditioning, introduced the idea that consequences teach behavior. This is distinct from Pavlovian or classical conditioning. In a famous experiment, physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov trained dogs to salivate whenever they heard a bell. He did so by rewarding the dogs with food whenever the bell was rung. Over time, the dogs began to associate the bell with food. Eventually, the dogs would salivate whenever Skinner rang the bell, even if no food was presented. This process is called classical conditioning, and it can be applied to humans as well as animals.
Soft Determinism
Soft determinism is a variant of determinism compatible with human freedom. This school of thought redefines the traditional definition of freedom. According to soft determinists, people’s wants, needs, and even their choices are predetermined. However, people are not truly free unless other external factors allow them to act in accordance with their choices. For example, a person may be predetermined to leave a room, but they cannot do so if the door to the room is locked. The person in this situation would not be considered free. To soft determinists, freedom involves moving toward a state in which people can carry out their predetermined wants and desires without interference from outside forces.
Indeterminism
Indeterminism is a school of thought that denies determinism. According to indeterminism, not every event has a specific cause. Some events are the result of pure chance, chaos, or the exercise of genuine free will. Indeterminists acknowledge that people have the ability to choose their actions and cite this as evidence against determinism. To an indeterminist, people are free to be creative and make their own decisions. There is no fate, no predetermined course of action, and people are able to change their future.
Indeterminists argue that all people inherently know that they have the ability to choose their actions. People understand that they have multiple choices about how to respond to a given situation. Indeterminists assert that the simple inherent knowledge that people act by choice is enough evidence to refute determinism. Many indeterminists state that if people truly believed that every action were predetermined, they would have no motivation to go out and accomplish anything. If something were simply destined to happen, it would happen without any intervention from people.
In most schools of philosophy, the concept of free will is linked to moral responsibility. Unlike hard determinists, indeterminists believe that people are morally responsible for their actions. Because they believe humans can make choices, indeterminists also feel that people are responsible for any consequences that result from their choices.
Bibliography
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