Free Will Vs. Determinism Essay -- Free Will Choosing Fate Essays Pape

Free Will Vs. Determinism I. DeterminismBefore one can properly evaluate the unblemished debate that enshrouds the Free Will/Determinism, each term must pee a meaning, and before we explore the meaning of each term, we must return a general definition. Determinism is, Everything that happens is caused to happen. (Clifford Williams. Free Will and Determinism A Dialogue pg 3). This is the position that Daniel, a character in Williams dialogue, chooses to believe and defend. David Hume goes a little duskyer and explains in his essay, An head Concerning Human Understanding of Liberty and Necessity, that determinism is this It is univers altogethery allowed, that matter, in all its operations, is actuated by a necessary force, and that every natural effect is so hardly determined by the energy of its cause, that no other effect in such particular circumstances could possibly have resulted from it Pg. 54). No matter how deep you decide to delve into the definition, it is still the s ame. The idea behind determinism is that everything has a caused and has happened because of that cause. If the circumstances were repeated exactly the same, there could be no other outcome. For a determinist, feeling is nothing but cause and effect. In Williams dialogue, Daniel, who represents the deterministic ideology, gives one main argument. He states that there is an enormous number of events which science has found causes for, including events involving human behavior. This gives us good reason to believe all events are caused. If the lights in the building suddenly go out, there is a reason for it, we may not go what the reason is, but the is a cause for the failure in the lights. While this seems like a sound argument, Frederick, the devoid will defender, has a legitimate problem with this reasoning. Frederick claims that science has observed and found causes for and a small portion of events. There is no record that started at the beginning of time, and most of what w e know we have observed in the last few hundred years. To base an argument on this evidence is absurd. We know very little in light of the total span of human history. Because of this, we should not infer that everything has a cause. That is as if looking at one lawn of grass that is yellow and dead, and concluding from that, that all grass is yellow. This sounds but absurd, but... ... then why punish us for our character? It would accomplish nothing because we cannot change our character. Therefore, responsibility and determinism are not compatible. The conflict of responsibility and determinism will only be solved if everyone could agree on one single, all-inclusive definition of determinism. There have been conflicts since the beginning of time, and conflicts will remain until the end of time. The question of free will and determinism will endure past all of the other conflicts, but to each their own. I totally agree with Hume. Edwards considers Humes views, a quagmire of evas ion, but I consider the idea of natural necessity and liberty coexisting very well thought out and quite comprehensible. Humes view takes all I believe about determinism and free will, and puts it together in a non contradicting way. We truly have the power of acting or not acting, while at the same time we work inside the regularities of the human nature. I cannot totally agree with hard determinists, nor can I agree with free willists, but Hume incorporates the cardinal and ends up with a philosophy that explains how the evidence of both sides can coexist. To each their own.