Determinism Vs Libertarianism

667 Words2 Pages

We as humans have the choice to decide whether we believe we are free or that everything in life is caused due to past events. This debate is brought up when you look at both Determinism and Libertarianism. Both theories draw their own perspective from people. What you chose to believe is entirely what you feel to be true, but you can’t hold both views. You either have to side with a libertarianism or hard determinism standpoint.
Libertarianism or “free will” can be defined as human beings are not bounded by causes, but are utterly free to act and choose. This means us as humans are able to decide the decisions we make. Whether the choices we make are moral or not, it is our free will. A person’s actions are caused by themselves as a result of their own thoughts. Past events that take place don’t matter it these situations. …show more content…

Everything happens due to a result of past events and whatever event will occur is impossible to evade. There is no choice or freedom of will. Fate is inevitable, what is meant to happen will always find its way. Homer the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey stated that “Fate is the same for the man who holds back, the same if he fights hard. We are all held in a single honour, the brave with the weaklings. A man dies still if he has done nothing, as one who has done much.” There is no way around fate, you can’t fight against it.
Comparing both determinism and libertarianism, you can picture that someone can’t side with both sides of the argument. People believe either that everyone has free will and the power to make their own choices for themselves, or that everything in life is caused by a set event. From a scientific aspect, when looking at determinism you can say that everything in the universe is already set; and for us as humans why would we be any different. There isn’t anything that makes humans different from the rest of

Show More
Related

  • Roderick Chisholm on freedom of the will

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is much debate over the issue of whether we have complete freedom of the will or if our will caused by something other than our own choosing. There are three positions adopted by philosophers regarding this dispute: determinism, libertarianism, and compatibilism. Determinists believe that freedom of the will does not exist. Since actions are events that have some predetermined cause, no actions can be chosen and thus there is no will to choose. The compatibilist argues that you can have both freedom of the will and determinism. If the causes which led to our actions were different, then we could have acted in another way which is compatible with freedom of the will. Libertarians believe that freedom of the will does exist.

    Read More

  • Autonomy in Determinism

    3852 Words  | 8 Pages

    The view mentioned is alarming in two respects: First of all, in accordance with the way we see ourselves we are convinced that freedom is essential for man's being. Secondly, philosophers think they have excellent arguments against determinism.

    Read More

  • Libertarianism In Ground Hogs Day

    1683 Words  | 4 Pages

    Libertarianism is a political philosophy that upholds free will as its pivotal objective. As a natural law, there are no events that happen by chance, each event is derived from a cause that led to a specific effect. The law of cause and effect is one of the most universal and most certain of all laws. Ted sider says “humans and humans alone transcend the laws of nature; they are free.” Only humans are dismissed from the effects of a cause when it comes to Free will. I believe it is flawed to assume that we are the only exception to a natural law of our universe. Something as complex as our brains, such as the universe for example, did not create itself, or the phenomenon’s that occur in it. We know that in our solar system events all derive from a specific cause and we also know that everything in our universe is made up of the same matter, and we are all connected energetically. With that being said, I think it is absurd to believe that humans transcend the most established law of

    Read More

  • Fate In Forrest Gump: Fate And Free Will

    1852 Words  | 4 Pages

    Marilyn Monroe once said, “I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they 're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” Is fate subjected to one’s actions or is there another force that intervenes? Two choices to pick from, but each decision will result in a different ending. Most people believe they are free to choose whatever they want, however was fate already predestined that makes people decide their fate regardless of choice? Over the centuries, people have pondered upon the fact that integrity, justice, and moral principles play a role in deciding one’s fate. Does this mean that if Odysseus were to put aside his pride and be humble along his journey home, he would not have gone through all that trouble for anything? Is fate uncontrollable even for the Gods to handle? Forrest Gump is born mental

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Compatibilism And Determinism

    1400 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, do individuals have free will, or are our actions pre-determined? This is the question of many individuals and we will never know the answer. In this paper I compared and contrasted the three major philosophical viewpoints regarding the concepts of determinism, compatibilism, and libertarianism. I also gave strengths and weaknesses of each position. I came to a conclusion on which I find to be a correct answer.

    Read More

  • Libertarianism is the Best Philosophy

    1632 Words  | 4 Pages

    All in all, each view of the philosophy of free will and determinism has many propositions, objects and counter-objections. In this essay, I have shown the best propositions for Libertarianism, as well as one opposition for which I gave a counter-objection. Additionally, I have explained the Compatabalistic and Hard Deterministic views to which I gave objections. In the end, whether it is determinism or indeterminism, both are loaded with difficulties; however, I have provided the best explanation to free will and determinism and to an agent being morally responsible.

    Read More

  • The Concept Of Free Will In The Movie Gattaca

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine starting your day and not having a clue of what to do, but you begin to list the different options and routes you can take to eventually get from point A to point B. In choosing from that list, there coins the term “free will”. Free will is our ability to make decisions not caused by external factors or any other impediments that can stop us to do so. Being part of the human species, we would like to believe that we have “freedom from causation” because it is part of our human nature to believe that we are independent entities and our thoughts are produced from inside of us, on our own. At the other end of the spectrum, there is determinism. Determinism explains that all of our actions are already determined by certain external causes

    Read More

  • Freedom and Determinism in Richard Taylor’s Metaphysics

    859 Words  | 2 Pages

    Neither soft determinism nor hard determinism successfully reconciles freedom and determinism. Soft determinism fails as it presents a limited type freedom, and it can be argued that the inner state of the agent is causally determined. Hard determinism presents a causally sound argument, whilst ignoring the moral bases of our society. Due to the failure of these theories to harmonize the data, the metaphysical problem of freedom and determinism persists.

    Read More

  • Reasearch on Free Will and Determinism

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    In life we are constantly questioning why people act the way they do. A determinist would say that freedom of choice couldn’t always be possible because our actions are determined by things that are way beyond our control. This view is known as the most extreme form of determinism; hard determinism. A hard determinist would believe there is no free will it’s an illusion everything is determined. Everything happens because of physical laws, which govern the universe. Whether or not we do well in life is far beyond our control. We may seem to have a choice but in reality we don’t. We shouldn’t blame people or praise people it wasn’t their choice. We are helpless and blind from start to finish. We don’t have any moral responsibilities. Some causes that are put forth by determinist are human nature; which means people are born with basic instincts that influence how they act. Another is environmental influence, which simply means people are shaped by their environment conditioned by their experience to be the kind of people they are. Also, social dynamics, which mean’s social creatures that are influenced by social force around them and psychological forces, which is people, are governed by psychological forces.

    Read More

  • Fate in "Oedipus the King"

    1063 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...that fate. Events that lead to other events will eventually lead one to their fate. “Oedipus the King” is a great play that sets an example of what fate is. Oedipus chooses to flee from home, in attempt to avoid the god’s statement of his fate from coming true. However, Oedipus’s decision for fleeing is what was necessary to make his fate come true. Undoubtedly, this is what was meant to happen because Oedipus allowed it to. Perhaps if Oedipus ignored the god and never did a thing then perhaps the outcome could have been different for Oedipus. However it did not turn out that way and the choices that Oedipus made is what led him to his doom.

    Read More

  • Chisholm and Free Will

    1262 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before I begin it is pertinent to note the disparate positions on the problem of human freedom. In "Human Freedom and the Self", Roderick M. Chisholm takes the libertarian stance which is contiguous with the doctrine of incompatibility. Libertarians believe in free will and recognize that freedom and determinism are incompatible. The determinist also follow the doctrine of incompatibility, and according to Chisholm's formulation, their view is that every event involved in an act is caused by some other event. Since they adhere to this type of causality, they believe that all actions are consequential and that freedom of the will is illusory. Compatiblist deny the conflict between free will and determinism. A.J. Ayer makes a compatibilist argument in "Freedom and Necessity".

    Read More

  • Free Will and Determinism

    1633 Words  | 4 Pages

    The problem of free will and determinism is a mystery about what human beings are able to do. The best way to describe it is to think of the alternatives taken into consideration when someone is deciding what to do, as being parts of various “alternative features” (Van-Inwagen). Robert Kane argues for a new version of libertarianism with an indeterminist element. He believes that deeper freedom is not an illusion. Derk Pereboom takes an agnostic approach about causal determinism and sees himself as a hard incompatibilist. I will argue against Kane and for Pereboom, because I believe that Kane struggles to present an argument that is compatible with the latest scientific views of the world.

    Read More

  • Soft Determinism

    1893 Words  | 4 Pages

    Determinism currently takes two related forms: hard determinism and soft determinism [1][1]. Hard determinism claims that the human personality is subject to, and a product of, natural forces. All of our choices can be accounted for by reference to environmental, social, cultural, physiological and hereditary (biological) causes. Our total character is a product of these environmental, social, cultural, physiological and hereditary forces, thus our beliefs, desires, values and habits are all outside of our control. The hard determinist, therefore, claims that our choices are determined by these factors; free will is an illusion because the choices and decisions we make are derived from our character, which is completely out of our control in creating. An example might help illustrate this point. Consider a man who has just repeatedly stabbed another man outside of a bar; the other man is dead. The hard determinist would argue that there were factors outside of the killer’s control which led him to this action. As a child, he was constantly beaten by his father and was the object of ridicule and contempt of his classmates. This trend of hard luck would continue all his life. Coupled with the fact that he has a gene that has been identified with male aggression, he could not control himself when he pulled the knife out and started stabbing the other man. All this aggression, and all this history were the determinate cause of his action.

    Read More

  • Destiny, Fate and Free Will in Homer's Odyssey

    2296 Words  | 5 Pages

    Fate seems to defy humanity at every turn.  A man may have his life planned out to the last second, but then some random force intervenes and he dies the second after he has completed his life plan.  Some believe in fate, believing that our lives are predetermined from the moment we are born.  Other people believe that everything is random, the result of some god rolling the dice in a universal poker game.  Still other people believe that each and every person is in total control of his or her destiny, every step of the way.  Who is to say which viewpoint is false?  Every culture has a unique perception of the role of fate in our lives, and no group has the "right answer," simply a different answer.  Taking into consideration the views of other cultures can help an individual refine his personal viewpoint on this inconceivable subject.

    Read More

  • Freedom and Determinism

    2359 Words  | 5 Pages

    Freedom, or the concept of free will seems to be an elusive theory, yet many of us believe in it implicitly. On the opposite end of the spectrum of philosophical theories regarding freedom is determinism, which poses a direct threat to human free will. If outside forces of which I have no control over influence everything I do throughout my life, I cannot say I am a free agent and the author of my own actions. Since I have neither the power to change the laws of nature, nor to change the past, I am unable to attribute freedom of choice to myself. However, understanding the meaning of free will is necessary in order to decide whether or not it exists (Orloff, 2002).

    Read More

More about Determinism Vs Libertarianism

Open Document