Determinism Flashcards
(151 cards)
1
Q
What does soft determinism argue?
A
People are determined but nonetheless still free
2
Q
How does soft determinism define ‘free’?
A
Being able to do what one wants to do without external interference
3
Q
How is soft determinism combine freedom and determinism?
A
Accepts that human actions have causes, but free actions are a consequence of choice rather than external influence
4
Q
What were Thomas Hobbes’ dates?
A
1588-1679
5
Q
What did Hobbes write, when and why?
A
- Treatise ‘Of Liberty and Necessity’
- 1645
- following a debate on human freedom with the Marquess of Newcastle and Bishop of Derry
6
Q
What did Hobbes believe regarding determinism?
A
Everything that happens is a necessary effect of antecedent causes
7
Q
What did Hobbes believe regarding free will?
A
Free actions exist but only in consistency with necessity
8
Q
What is Hobbes’ conception of liberty?
A
People are free because they can follow their desires but are not free from the chain of cause and effect
9
Q
According to Hobbes, what is being unrestrained not equal to?
A
Being caused
10
Q
What is an internal cause? (H)
A
The will, only affected by deterministic factors such as conditioning
11
Q
What is an external cause? (H)
A
Coercion or force, against the internal will
12
Q
What are A.J. Ayer’s dates?
A
1910-1989
13
Q
What does Ayer believe about free will?
A
A person who did an action can be considered to have acted freely if they could’ve refrained from doing it
14
Q
What are Ayer’s 3 conditions to identify an action as constrained?
A
- Coercion
- Habitual ascendancy
- Internal constraint
15
Q
What is coercion?
A
When a person is compelled by another
16
Q
What is habitual ascendancy?
A
When a person does not engage in the decision making process, e.g. obeying orders
17
Q
What is internal constraint?
A
When a person’s deliberative process is irrelevant e.g. kleptomania
18
Q
What does Ayer argue about causation?
A
All actions have causes but it is a specific kind of cause that makes an action not free
19
Q
What are Ayer’s 3 conditions for a free action?
A
- Could’ve acted otherwise
- Not compelled
- Voluntary action free from internal constraints
20
Q
What is Peter Vardy’s form of soft determinism?
A
An intellectual is capable of understanding the effects of conditioning, this can lead to greater freedom
21
Q
What is Robert Kane’s form of soft determinism?
A
In a ‘torn decision’ (in which both options are equally powerful) either choice is rational so the person is free to choose
22
Q
What is Daniel Dennett’s form of soft determinism?
A
Freedom is an ability refined in evolution which allows us to envision and avoid possibilities
23
Q
How does determinism differ from predestination?
A
It does not require any belief in a God or metaphysical entity
24
Q
What is determinism?
A
The idea that all human actions are the effects of antecedent causes and so are fixed
25
What are Pavlov's dates?
1849-1936
26
How did Pavlov notice the affect of conditioning?
When researching the digestive system of dogs, he noticed how they would salivate when approached by people in lab coats
27
How were Pavlov's dogs conditioned?
They had been conditioned to produce and unconditional reflex of saliva to the neutral stimulus of the lab coats
28
What is psychological determinism?
Human beliefs and actions follow unavoidably from the combination of experience and previous conditions
29
How did Watson and Rayner contribute to psychological determinism?
- exposed Little Albert to a fluffy rat and made a loud noise
- rat was henceforth associated with noise
- caused Little Albert to cry when shown rat even when no noise
30
What is B.F. Skinner's radical behaviourism?
The idea that all human action is the direct result of conditioning
31
What is operant conditioning? (Skinner)
Conditioning a person by rewarding or punishing
32
What did Benjamin Libet discover about psychological determinism?
Found that brain activity for an action occurred long before a conscious decision
33
What is scientific determinism?
The future is predictable via application of the laws of nature and information about the initial state
34
What is biological determinism?
Human behaviour is determined by biological attributed e.g. the gene
35
What is genetic fixity?
The genes of parents inevitably determine to characteristics of their children at the moment of conception
36
When was the Human Genome Project and what was its purpose?
- 1990-2003
- attempted to map the genes of the human genome
37
What were the 4 areas of findings of the Human Genome Project?
1. Criminality and violent behaviour
2. Psychiatric illness
3. Addiction
4. Sexual orientation
38
What did the HGP find about criminality and violent behaviour? (2)
- it could be linked to the Y chromosome as 96% of prison population were male
- analysis of 900 offenders in Finland identified 2 genes 13x more likely in repeat offenders
39
What did the HGP find about psychiatric illness?
Autism, ADHD etc. have common genetic variations
40
What did the HGP find about addiction?
Influenced by genes clusters associated with mood and behaviour
41
What did the HGP find about sexual orientation?
Can be pinpointed as associated with 2 genes
42
What is hard determinism?
All actions are caused therefore there is no such thing as a free choice
43
What did John Locke write and when?
- 'An Essay Concerning Human Understanding'
- 1689
44
How does Locke define freedom?
The power to be able to do something
45
How does Locke define will?
The power to desire something to be the case
46
What is Locke's Locked Room Analogy?
- an man is carried asleep into a room
- there is a friend in the room he wants to spend time with
- he is unknowingly locked in the room
- he believes he is free to leave but he wills to stay
- therefore free will is an illusion
47
How does the Locked Room Analogy question whether we are free to will what we will?
The man cannot will himself to leave due to the presence of his friend
48
What were Augustine's dates?
354-430
49
Why does Augustine object to Pelagius' argument that human morality can bring about salvation?
Renders the sacrifice of Jesus and omnipotence of God redundant
50
What is double predestination?
God had selected in advance who will be saved and condemned, and so creates souls with the intention of punishing them
51
What is single predestination?
God has selected the Elect for salvation, the Reprobates are just the remainder
52
What did Augustine believe about inclination?
We are inclined and only free to sin
53
What is concupiscence?
Intense desire for earthly pleasures
54
Why are all humans slave to their desires?
Inheritance of sin and concupiscence from the Fall
55
How was Jesus free of Original Sin and concupiscence?
Immaculate conception
56
What is massa peccati?
Lump of sin
57
Where does the massa peccati analogy originate?
Romans 9, Paul uses analogy of a lump of clay needing to be shaped by a potter - Augustine saw humanity as a contaminated lump of clay
58
Why can't humanity perceive the extent of sin?
Humans are universally affected by original sin
59
What ideas of predestination are associated with Augustine? (6)
- concupiscence
- massa peccati
- seminal presence
- liberum arbitrium
- atonement
- vineyard workers
60
What did Augustine believe was the initial, created state of humanity?
Perfectly good with the gift of free will
61
What does Augustine believe the Fall and Original Sin are the result of?
Free human choices to disobey God
62
Why are all humans condemned due to Original Sin?
Seminal presence in Adam
63
What is liberum arbitrium?
Free will
64
Why must humans have free will according to Augustine?
Otherwise God would be the author of sin, punishing humanity unjustly
65
How is human liberty lost due to Original Sin?
We are inherently predisposed to commit individual sin and desire evil
66
What analogy does Augustine use to present how it impossible for humans to truly choose good by themselves?
Weighing scales, in which the evil side is already weighted
67
How does Augustine interpret salvation?
As a free gift for the undeserving
68
How does Augustine believe atonement can be achieved?
Through God's grace alone
69
Where is the Parable of the Vineyard Workers?
Matthew 20
70
What is the Parable of the Vineyard Workers?
- a landowner promises to pay workers 1d for a day's work
- he hires a group in the morning and pays them 1d
- he hires extra workers in the afternoon and pays them 1d
- this payment was not reward for the amount of work but the fulfilment of a promise
71
How does Augustine use the Parable of the Vineyard Workers?
Presents salvation as not a reward but a fulfilment of God's promise to save those he has predestined for atonement
72
Who was Calvin, what did he write and when?
- French Protestant Reformer
- 'Institutes of the Christian Religion'
- 1536
73
What did Calvin challenge?
Catholic tradition and some of Augustine's thinking
74
What are the key ideas associated with Calvin? (5)
- Doctrine of Election
- Five Points of Calvinism
- Elect and Reprobates
- Absolute power of God
- Corrupted nature of humans
75
What is the Doctrine of Election?
The idea that predestination is a decree of God that was decided before creation and is independent of human action
76
What scripture does Calvin generally refer to?
Pauls letters to the Romans and Ephesians
77
What are the 5 Points of Calvinism?
1. Total depravity
2. Unconditional election
3. Limited atonement
4. Irresistible grace
5. Perseverance of the Elect
78
What is total depravity?
Humans are inherently sinful and incapable of doing good by themselves
79
What is unconditional election?
A person is elected on the basis of God's will alone, independent of human action
80
What is limited atonement?
Christ's death is only for the Elect
81
What is irresistible grace?
Humans cannot resist God's love, the Elect will always obey God's will
82
What is perseverance of the elect?
It is impossible for the Elect to turn away from God and commit apostasy
83
What type of predestination does Calvin lean to?
Double
84
What is a paradox within Calvin's predestination argument?
God punishes the Reprobates for turning away from him, even though the Fall was his predetermined will and the method by which he asserted predestination
85
What does the absolute power of God reflect on Calvin's predestination?
Nothing happens unless God means it and human action cannot affect God's will
86
How did Calvin advocate for people to act?
In a way pleasing to God, as this is a sign of being among the Elect
87
What was the historical context of Calvin's writing?
Protestant persecution in 16th Century France, which Calvin interpreted as a sign of being among the Elect
88
Religious believers should accept predestination:
1. Consistent with traditional understanding of God's characteristics
2. Evident in texts such as Romans 8
3. Approved and accepted into the doctrine of the Church by the Council of Carthage and Synod of Dort
89
Religious believers should not accept predestination:
1. Free will is intrinsic to religious ethics and the resolution for the problem of evil and suffering
2. Predestination can be paradoxical and contradictory
3. Predestination may refers to the goal of salvation overall rather than the fates of individuals
90
God predestines humanity:
1. Biblical prophesy implies God as an absolute sovereign
2. Religious texts such as Ephesians 1:11 imply God predestined from the beginning of time
3. Feinburg believes God accomplishes things on the basis of his purposes
91
Ephesians 1:11
'predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will'
92
God does not predestine humanity:
1. Single predestination suggests only the elect are determined
2. Free will is instrumental to religious ethics and teaching
3. Problem of Evil and Suffering
93
What are 3 strengths of Determinism?
1. Biology and psychology present evidence of causality
2. Scientific and medical developments have been based off the ability to predict human behaviour
3. It is possible for people to be free externally but internally conditioned
94
What are 3 weaknesses of Determinism?
1. Quantum mechanics and indeterminism challenge Newtonian views
2. No clear evidence of the efficient cause
3. Can excuse moral responsibility
95
Hard Determinism shows we have no free will:
1. We can observe causality in everyday life and decision making
2. Behaviourism views our actions as conditioned reactions
3. Free will can be considered a philosophical illusion
96
Hard Determinism does not show we have no free will
1. Sartre argues determinism is restrictive self-deception
2. HD limits description of behaviour as solely nature or nurture
3. Derives evidence from experiments on animals, not taking into account voluntary human thought
97
Hard Determinism - Lacey
'hard determinists say that out actions are caused in a way that makes us not as free as we might have thought, so that responsibility, if it implies free will, is an illusion'
98
Freedom and Will - Locke
'a person in regard of wishing any action in their power into existence once proposed to their thoughts cannot be free'
99
Scientific determinism - Laplace
'we may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future'
100
Conclusion of psychological determinism - Skinner
'man has no will, intention, self-determinism or personal responsibility'
101
Compatibilism - Nelene
'Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will'
102
Internal cause - Hobbes
'a man is said to be compelled when fear makes him will to do something, as when a man willingly throws his goods into the sea to save himself'
103
Constraint - Ayer
'for it is not, I think, causality that freedom is to be contrasted with, but constraint'
104
Romans 5:12
'sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned'
105
Inheritance - Augustine
'Man, being of his own will corrupted and justly condemned, begot corrupted and condemned children'
106
Romans 30:15
'I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction'
107
Romans 8:29
'for those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son'
108
Doctrine of Election - Calvin
'God foreknew what the end of man was to be before he made him, and foreknew because he had so ordained by his decree'
109
Double predestination - Calvin
'all are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation'
110
Unconditional Election - Calvin
'the salvation of believers is founded entirely on the decree of divine election, that the privilege is not procured by works but free calling'
111
What is the role of normative ethics?
Judges whether moral behaviour is reasonable in accordance with whatever moral standards are being used
112
What is the implication of hard determinism on the usefulness of normative ethics?
Limited usefulness as ethical decisions form part of the causal chain, however, some may see normative ethics as influencing actions
113
How do determinists see normative ethics within the causal chain?
They encourage/discourage moral/immoral actions
114
What do soft determinists believe that has implications on normative ethics?
Freedom to act depends upon freedom to make choices
115
What may hard determinism imply about morality?
None of us can be held truly morally responsible as people are determined to act in a certain way
116
What does John Hospers argue about moral values?
They are just luck and are worthless because there is always some cause that compels action
117
What did the defence for the Leopold and Loeb case argue?
They were 'deficient in emotion' and did not make a conscious choice due to external influences on their behaviour
118
When was the Leopold and Loeb case and what did they admit to?
- 1924
- killing a 14 year old
119
How does Soft Determinism argue for moral responsibility?
Choices in accordance with a person's nature creates some extent of moral responsibility
120
How does Hard Determinism recognise some degree of ability to shape the future?
Ideas of cause and effect and operant conditioning
121
How can Hard Determinism justify punishment?
By recognising the effects of causation and operant conditioning, and treating them appropriately in order to bring about a more positive future
122
What did Ted Honderich argue in 'How Free Are You?'?
Punishments don't have to be retributive
123
How does determinism argue blame and punishment are valuable in future conditioning?
They form part of a causal chain
124
What does C.S.Lewis argue in 'Problem of Pain'?
God's omnipotence refers to what is intrinsically possible within God's nature
125
How does predestination reflect on God?
Implies God's omnipotence as all humanity is reliant on the will of God in order to act
126
What did Aquinas argues God's omnipotence extends to?
The use of free will in carrying out created purpose - God is still omnipotent even if humanity has free will
127
What can it be argued that God did when free will was created?
Chose to limit omnipotence
128
How does predestination imply God's benevolence?
All humans deserve punishment but God lovingly predestines some to be saved
129
How does predestination contradict God's benevolence? (3)
- author of all sin
- only chooses some to be saved
- allows suffering for sins of Adam
130
How does predestination undermine the purpose of prayer?
If the purpose of prayer is to achieve an outcome, then it is undermined by predestination and made redundant
131
How may prayer be justified in a predestined universe?
Only prayers in line with God's plan are answered
132
How does unconditional election challenge prayer?
Election/condemnation cannot be altered
133
How may prayer be justified in reference to unconditional election?
Perhaps it is only of use for the predestined elect who naturally seek forgiveness for sin and to build a relationship with God
134
How does predestination undermine miracles?
No need to intervene with the laws of nature or cause conversion/a religious rebirth in a predetermined universe
135
How may miracles be justified in a predestined universe?
God may pre-plan miracles in the determined narrative and intervene judiciously in the form of miracles
136
How may predestination justify the existence of evil? (2)
- soul making
- the fault of humanity
137
How may predestination link to forgiveness?
God does not predestine a person to be evil but predestines them to seek forgiveness
138
Defence of Leopold and Loeb
'they killed him as they might kill a spider or a fly [...] because they were made that way'
139
Responsibility and punishment - Darrow
'punishment as punishment is not admissible unless the offender has the free will to select this course'
140
Predestination - Qur'an 76:30
'but you cannot will, unless Allah wills'
141
Injustice of predestination - Russell
'a God that punishes or rewards on the basis of God's own eternal decisions is unfair and immoral'
142
Moral responsibility is an illusion:
1. Conditioning
2. Original sin
3. Genetics
143
What is MAOA?
The warrior gene, discovered as a determining cause of violence
144
What did the Max Planch Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science show?
Before we are aware of what we will do, our brain had already subconsciously determined it
145
Moral responsibility is not an illusion:
1. Soft determinism
2. Biblical evidence of choice
3. Scientific libertarianism
146
What does Frankfurt argue in 'The Importance Of What We Care About'?
Causal chains influence choices but doesn't entirely remove free will
147
What do Fischer and Ravizza argue in support of the reality of moral responsibility?
Actions result from an individual's own reason-responsive mechanism
148
What does Strauson argue about moral responsibility?
It lies in our inter-personal relationships and is inherently social
149
Predestination influences our understanding of God:
1. Implies omnipotence
2. Asserts dominance of God over humanity
3. Arbiter of evil
150
Predestination does not influence our understanding of God:
1. Reflects politics of the Church
2. Not inevitable religious belief
3. Originates from concepts of God
151
How may beliefs about predestination be a result of the historical position of the Church?
They wanted to discourage arguments of Pelagius in order to preserve the authority of the Catholic Church and their decrees
