Free Will: Revised Position Paper

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date Free Will: Revised Position Paper Introduction Every action brings about an outcome, and our actions can either be shaped by the environment (determinism) or our free will. The concepts of free will and determinism have always been controversial with supporters of free will positing that we are responsible for the outcome of actions while supporters of determinism are positing that we cannot be held responsible for our actions or their consequences. We have always been told what to do in order to obtain certain outcomes, such as studying hard to achieve better grades. Which begs the question, do we have the ability to make choices so that we can control the outcome or are our actions dictated by forces beyond our control? My Position I believe that we all have free will, and thus we are in control of our actions. My position is based on two reasons. First, our actions are not stimulated by the environment (Smith 185) because our mind is responsible for interpreting what occurs in the environment (Smith 202). This is to mean that the mind is consciously assessing the environment and making interpretation concurrently with our perception. Therefore, while environmental encounters may influence our behavior, our mind is consciously aware of what is happening. The only thing that differs is how we interpret the encounter. The difference in interpretation implies that we have choices and a free will to choose our actions. Second, we can set our own goals through continuous assessment of our experiences (Smith 185). A person cannot have one similar goal throughout their entire life. Take for instance an individual who wants to pursue a certain career. Their goal at that particular point is to acquire the necessary skills. However, once they launch their career, this goal changes. Based on the experience of the individual at any given point, they may set a different goal, such as changing careers or pursuing a promotion. As such, it is possible to direct our goals in the direction we choose based on our life experiences, which means that people have free will. Opposing Position We are entirely shaped by the environment in which we live, and as such, we have no control of actions. Consequently, the lack of control over our actions means that we do not have choices and therefore, we cannot be held liable for our actions. One of the reasons why one might believe this is because many times, people are visual creatures and are prone to repeat what they see. This is something that starts early in the lifecycle because even children imitate what they see from their parents or others around them. Bargh and Chartrand (191) reveal that exposure to a certain behavior influences the perception of an individual and eventually, the individual becomes accustomed to that behavior. As such, the individual does not choose that behavior, but rather, the environment chooses them. Further, our environment dictates our actions by activating the conscious and unconscious goals Smith (185). This means that we have goals that we are not even aware of, but with time, we start pursuing them as influenced by the environment. As revealed by Bargh and Chartrand (193), pursuing a specific goal, such as success, can activate other goals that we are not consciously aware of. For instance, while pursuing love, we will have other goals such as being kind and caring for peop...