Free Will and Determinism

Determinism
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Determinism
Determinism claims that all events, including human behaviors, are determined by past events, and they are difficult to change once they have occurred. For many years, determinism has been a philosophical position. It has been a conservative philosophy, although philosophies for individual determinism may change. For instance, a determinist may argue that individuals are anxious due to their genes. During the early 20th century, some biological determinists argued that black folks were less intelligent than whites (Philosophy Terms, 2018). Also, determinism has been used to continuously uphold sexist ideas and emphasize the inequality and differences between men and women.
Causal determinism is the frequently addressed type of determinism. The main idea of determinism is causality (cause and effect). For instance, people do things despite knowing they are bad for them, but they keep doing them since they are out of their control. Comparably, there are some good things such as eating a balanced diet, regular exercise, and other activities. People do not engage themselves due to some forces that prevent them from doing the activities. Suppose an individual thinks that he can choose to do a particular action freely as he wants; he should think deeper since something else led to his choice of doing the activity in favor of other different activities. Determinists argue that every action results from previous events, and people cannot decide what to do since it is already decided for them (Philosophy Terms, 2018). Even though folks may think that they choose various actions, it is not their responsibility. According to natural laws, if the universe is purely physical and past events cause all occurrences, then determinism must be accurate. The other types of determinism include predeterminism, theological determinism, and adequate determinism.
Hard Determinism Arguments
Hard determinism consists of two central claims that argue that determinism is authentic and free will is an illusion. It states that folks have been living as determinists since the scientific revolution. Folks may not be aware of the specific description, but they assume any occurrence has a basis. Moreover, the answer entails the identification of relevant causes and natural laws that resulted in the event (Westacott, 2018). Stating that primary causes and the rule of nature operations determine the occurrence of an event suggests that the event was bound to happen under the same previous conditions. The same results will be observed if the universe is reversed a few seconds before the circumstances. A similar spot would be struck by lightning, and one could choose the same in the restaurant menu, and a penalty kick could be saved by the goalkeeper, to mention a few scenarios. The direction of events is fated and, therefore, predictable.
Science cannot fully prove the truth behind determinism. An individual will come across events that lack explanations. When such events occur, people do not assume that they are experiencing uncaused events but assume the causes have not been discovered. The continued success of science, particularly in its predictive power, has given more reasons to believe in determinism. Hard determinists observe the record of successful determination and deduce that every event is causally determined with no exceptions (Westacott, 2018). It means that the actions and decisions of human beings are predetermined, just like the rest of the events. The common belief that people enjoy special autonomy since they exercise free will is an illusion. It is an understandable illusion since it makes folks feel they are more important than the rest of the creatures.
Reasons Why Hard Determinism is Disturbing
The case of free will in hard determinism varies from other examples provided in the same field. Folks can believe in the scientific truth about the solar system or the material nature objects without a doubt. However, living a normal life thinking that you are not responsible for your actions is a difficult way of life. The concept that individuals are accountable for their actions underlies their willingness to take pride or remorse, rewards and punishments, and praises and blames (Westacott, 2018). Notably, people’s moral and legal system is based on the idea of individual responsibility. Also, if powers beyond individuals’ control determine each event, then the events include the determinist event that stipulates that determinism is true. The admission undermines the whole concept of concluding a rational reflection process. Also, it renders irrelevant to the entire process of discussing issues such as free will and determinism.
Soft Determinism
Soft determinism has two claims; determinism is accurate, and every event is causally determined, inclusive of human decisions. For instance, if an individual selected vanilla instead of chocolate ice cream, his choice could not have changed in the same circumstances and conditions (Westacott, 2019). Also, someone with complete knowledge of their events and conditions could have predicted the...