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Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved
35
CHAPTER 6 – FREEDOM VERSUS DETERMINISM
General Overview
Free will and determinism go to the heart of many philosophical, sociological, psychological,
economic, and cultural theories and worldviews and are certainly central to any conception of
morality. Free will appears to separate us from nature, and yet much recent science tells us that
this is not so. The concept of causality is central here and instructors will need to carefully
address the perplexities and confusions that surround this notion. Also, the author clearly opts for
a particular view so, as with the last chapter, you will need to make decisions – assuming that
such a thing exists or that they haven’t been made already – about whether to run with the author
or not.
Class Suggestions
This topic can and should be tightly structured and laid out to prevent misunderstandings,
especially when discussing the differences between compatibilism and the other positions. I
usually begin by asking students whether they chose to come to class today. Almost everyone
will agree that they have chosen. You can then begin to sketch out the idea of determinism,
getting the key concepts up on the board and explaining how determinism is different from fate,
destiny, chance, etc. Using simple examples will draw students into the discussions and you can
build in complexity as you go along. Of course the issue of moral responsibility should be
stressed here, and asking students what they could and would do if they really believed that
everything was determined usually brings this home. Another way of setting up the problem is to
ask students whether everything has a cause. If everything has a cause then how can we be held
responsible? If, on the other hand, some things are uncaused, then how can we be held
responsible for something we didn’t cause? Either way appears to remove us from moral
responsibility. Getting them in groups to figure this out can be very productive.
Chapter Summary
Are human beings “free” to make moral decisions or are they “determined” by forces outside of
them?
The Meaning of Determinism
Determinism means universal causation. For everything that occurs there is a corresponding
cause. If this is true, how could we hold people responsible for what they cannot help doing?
Types and Theories of Determinism
Religious Determinism–Predestination
Religious determinism derives from attributes of God or Allah: an all knowing, all-powerful
being. God determines the course of events. This raises – apart from huge issues of proof – the
problem of evil and the problem of salvation.
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved
36
Scientific Determinism
Science is founded on universal causation and such causation means that there is no freedom.
Physical Science and Physical Determinism:
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) is the greatest exponent of physical determinism. The universe is
governed by mechanical laws. Human beings are parts of that universe. Some argue that humans
are not just physical and question physics that suggests a “freedom” even at the most basic non-
conscious level of the universe (atoms, molecules).
Biological and Genetic Determinism:
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) argued that species evolve through “selection” of the “fittest.”
Modern genetics complements this theory.
Both physical and biological determinism leave no room for a “mental” or “spiritual” side to our
existence.
Social-Cultural Determinism
Historical, or Cultural, Determinism:
Hegel (1770-1831) believed that world history is a manifestation of an “absolute mind” realizing
itself. Character and action are determined by culture.
Problems:
1. Difficult to prove
2. Culture may influence but may not fully determine actions
Economic or Social Determinism:
Karl Marx (1818-1883) followed Hegel but argued that history is determined economically and
socially. People are determined by class.
Psychological Determinism– Freudianism and Behaviorism:
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) argued that human beings are determined by unconscious drives
that cultures distort or repress.
Psychological determinism significantly argues from observed behavior rather than inner
psychical dynamics. B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) argued that human behavior is governed by
conditioning and environment, both physical and social.
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved
37
Problems: Conditioning may work for some under certain circumstances but not all of the time.
Skinner’s premise is a totally malleable material that can be shaped with the appropriate
techniques.
Fatalism and Hard and Soft Determinism
Fatalism
All events are fixed and beyond our control. This is not the same as saying everything has a
cause.
Hard Determinism (HD)
Everything is caused so no free will. Humans can change the future but this will be as a result of
their own personal make-up or environment, not a free choice.
Soft Determinism
Everything is caused but some events are caused by humans by means of their own minds or
wills. Thus, one is neither completely free or determined. Freedom is strictly limited because
humans originate only some causes but are determined by others.
Indeterminism
There is freedom and chance in the world especially when we look at human deliberation and
chose especially moral deliberation. William James (1842-1910) is the most prominent exponent
of this view. But if acts are “uncaused” or indeterminate then nobody could be said to be
responsible for them. Thus there may be accidents or chance but not true human freedom.
Criticism of Hard Determinism and Arguments for Freedom
For hard determinists morality is an illusion. Hospers argues that we can free ourselves of certain
desires (alcoholism, smoking, etc.).
Inaccurate Use of Language
Hospers argues that hard determinists have pushed the meaning of “freedom” to mean
completely free in an unlimited sense, i.e., free of biological or genetic make-up, etc. This is
ultimately self-contradictory.
Human Complexity
HD ignores the complexity of human beings and reduces, for example, consciousness to physical
phenomenon.
Levels of Differences
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved
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Rocks, Plants, Animals, and Humans:
Freedom or choice seems to increase the further up the evolutionary scale you go.
Existentialism and Human Consciousness:
Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980) argued that humans are confronted by freedom in that
consciousness “intends” and creates experience. We make “choices” in relation situations that
may be determined. For example, how we choose to live in relation to those things that may be
determined for us.
Conclusion: Soft Determinism
Soft determinism appears as the best alternative. Freedom is limited by external factors of all
sorts. But we are free to choose or not choose how we respond to them, to act or not to act in
relation to them. Thus it makes sense to assign moral responsibility to human beings, to praise,
blame, and reward them.
KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS
Compatibilism
Incompatibilism
Free Will
Determinism
Religious Predestination
Physical/Biological/Genetic Causality
Historical/Economic/Psychological Causality
Hard Determinism
Soft Determinism
Indeterminism
Fatalism
Responsibility
Chance
Accident
Destiny
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1. Did you use free will in answering this question? Critically examine the arguments for and
against.
2. Does everything have a cause? In your answer deal thoroughly with the question of moral
responsibility.
3. If God is all knowing there cannot be free will. Discuss.
4. Compatibilism or soft determinism is the view that free will and determinism are compatible.
Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of this view.
5. Which position is the best here and on what grounds?
TRUE/FALSE
1. Determinism can be understood to mean that there is no uncaused event.
2. Religious determinism is the idea that our lives are predestined.
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved
39
3. Ivan Pavlov is famous for his experiments with human beings, getting them to salivate at the
sound of a bell.
4. B. F. Skinner based his behavioral theories on the groundbreaking work of Heisenberg.
5. Fatalism is the view that although things are fixed and predetermined your behavior still
makes a difference.
6. Indeterminism is the idea that some events, especially regarding human decision making, are
uncaused. If some human decisions are uncaused then nobody is responsible for them.
7. Hard determinism maintains that if all events are caused there is no freedom.
8. Soft determinism is the view that all events are caused but there is human freedom.
9. According to the author of the text, one problem with hard determinists is their inaccurate use
of language.
10. Soft determinism is the only acceptable theory because it shows that freedom is impossible.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
11. Determinism means the same thing as
a) fatalism.
b) destiny.
c) universal causation.
d) chance.
12. The great exponent of physical determinism was
a) John Calvin.
b) Sir Isaac Newton.
c) Charles Darwin.
d) George Hegel.
13. The great exponent of economic and social determinism was
a) Adam Smith.
b) Karl Marx.
c) John Hospers.
d) William James.
14. If there are external causes for everything you do you are a
a) hard determinist.
b) soft determinist.
c) indeterminist.
d) fatalist.
15. Who argued that humans are physical beings conditioned by their social, cultural, and natural
environments?
a) Karl Marx
b) Sigmund Freud
c) B.F. Skinner
d) Henri Bergson
Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved
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16. All events are caused but some are caused by human beings is the doctrine of
a) hard determinism.
b) soft determinism.
c) soft indeterminism.
d) hard indeterminism.
17. Who, according to the author of the text, is the most prominent exponent of indeterminism?
a) William James
b) Henry Ford
c) Sigmund Freud
d) Karl Marx
18. Indeterminism is the belief that
a) some things are caused.
b) all things are caused.
c) nothing is caused.
d) nothing is caused except human actions.
19. Who said that consciousness is “intentional”?
a) Sigmund Freud
b) Ivan Pavlov
c) Fred Flintstone
d) Edmund Husserl
20. Who would argue that even if you are crippled or blind how you choose to respond to that is
freedom?
a) B.F. Skinner
b) Jean-Paul Sartre
c) Paul Churchland
d) Isaac Newton
Answer Key to Chapter 6 Test Questions
True or False: Multiple Choice:
