free will and determinism issues and debates Flashcards
what is the free will and determinism debate
is our behaviour a matter of free will or are we a product of a set of internal and external influences that determine who we are and what we do
biological approach suggests causes are internal
behaviourist approach suggests they are external
humanistic approach embraces concept of free will
what is free will
human beings self determining and free to choose their own thoughts and actions
does not deny there may be biological and environmental forces that exert some influence on behaviour but implies wea re able to reject these forces if we wish because we are in control of throughs and behaviour
huamn behaviour advocated by humanistic approach
what is determinism
free will has no place in explaining behavour
hard determinism- suggests all human behaviour has a cause should be possible to identify and describe these causes, assumes everything we think and do is dictated by internal or external forces that cant control
soft determinism- james was first to put forward notion, job of scientists to explain what determines our behvaiour this does not detract from the freedom we have to make rational conscious choices in everyday sitations
what are types of determinism
biological determinism- emphasises role of biological determinism in behavour such as influence of autonomic nervous syste on stress response or influence f genes on mental health, recognise mediating influence of environment on biological structures
environmental determinism- skinner described free will as illusion and argued that all behaviour is result of conditioning, might think we acting independtly our experience of choise is sum total of reinforcement contingencies that have acted on us throughout lives
psychic determinism- freud believed free will illusion but emphasised influence of biological drives nad instincts, no such thing as accident and even something as random as slip of tongue can be explained by influence of unconscious
what is the scientific emphasis on causal explanations
every event has a cause and that causes can be explained using general laws
knowledge of causes and formation of laws important allow scientifsts predict and control events in future
lab experiement is ideal of science enables researchers demonstrate causal relationships where all variables cna be controlled
what is the practical value
practical value
common sense view exercise free choice in everyday lives on daily basis
thinking we do can improve mental health
roberts looked at adolescents who had strong belief in fatalism that their lives were decided by events outside of their control, found adolescents greater risk of developing depression
people who exhibit external rather than internal locus of control are less likely to be optimistic
suggests even if we dont have free will the fact we believe we do may have positive impact on mind and behaviour
what is research evidence
brain scan evidence doesnt support it but does support determinism
libet- instructed pps to choose a random moment to flick wrist while measured activity in brain, pps had to say when they felt the conscious will to move, libet found unconscious brain activity leading up to conscious decision to move came around half a second before pps conscioulsy felt they decided to move
may be interpreted as meaning that our most basic experiences are determined by our brain before we are aware of them
findings showing that brain involved in decision making not suprising just what we would expect
just because action comes before conscious aware of it doesnt mean theres no decision to act just the decision took time to reach consciousness
conscious awareness of decision simply read out of our unconcsious decision making
suggests evidence is not appropriate to challenge free will
what is the law
position of the legal system on responsibility
hard determinism stance is individual choice mot cause of behaviour
not consistent with the way legal system operates
court of law offenders held responsible for actions
main pricnpple of legal system defendant exercised free will in committing the crime
real world detreminsts arguments don’t work.
