Freedom

ARE YOU THE MASTER OF YOUR FATE?

Most of us want to believe that we are free. Yet at the same time many of us believe that our freedom is restricted by forces outside our control. Every day we are confronted with the mystery of human action. In each of these instances, we struggle to understand why people acted the way they did. Our answers typically depend on our deepest beliefs, about the nature of the human self. Some people believe that genuine freedom of choice is not always possible because our descisions and actions are determined by factors beyond our control. This view is know as determinism. The most extreme determinists believe that every behavior can be traced to a cause, although they may disagree about what those causes are.

DETERMINISM:
-All events and human actions are brought about by previous events in accordance with universal causal laws.
-Human freedom is illusory.

COMPATIBILISM:
-All events and human actions are brought about by previous events in accordance with universal causal laws.
-Human actions are free if they are the result of internal motivations, not the product of external influences.

LIBERTARIANISM:
-At least some human actions are not determined by previous events in accordance with universal causal laws.
-Humans are able to make free descisions, that there is a meaningful sense that though we made one choice, we could have done otherwise.


===>Popular explanations of human behavior that exemplify the determinist view:<===

-Human nature: "People are born with certain basic instincts that influence and determine how they behave." Based on the view, any action, whether good or evil, is no more than the natural expression of a universal nature that is genetically hardwired into every person. There is no possibility of free choice because our actions follow from our inborn nature. Whatever the action is, it is out of our control, and we cannot alter our fundamental character.

-The environment: "People are shaped by their environment, conditioned by their experiences to be the kind of people they are." This view holds that behaviors are the direct products of the life experiences that people have. People can not be held responsible for the way that they behave because they didn't choose their environment; they were molded by forced beyond their control.

-Psychological forces: "People are governed by psychological forces, many of them unconcious, that cause them to think, feel, and act in certain ways." Based on this point of view, peoples actions are a direct result of deep psychological impulsed that have been formed by people's earliest relationships and experiences. Although these people may think that they are choosing to do the things they are doing, in reality they are puppets manipulated by unseen psychological strings. In this view, behavior results from psychological motivations, often repressed, that form the basic structure of personality. Feelings of freedom are illusory.

-Social dynamics: "People are social creatures who are greatly influenced by the people around them." The need to conform to the prevailing norms, to be accepted by peer groups, to please those who are close to them, to obey those in positions of authority. These social needs determine people's behavior and define who they are as individuals.