Difference Between Free Will And Determinism

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Throughout this essay, I will discuss and analyse the reasons which make free will and determinism incompatible with one another. Free will is a term which implies that every human being has been given the gift of free will by God to choose either good or evil. Free will is a freedom which every human is entitled to which allows us to make our own decisions. Determinism is a term which implies that every event which happens in life, happens from a cause. Determinism indicates that humans cannot act any other way other than the way they act. Both terms are completely opposite from one another and I will discuss why throughout this essay.
Determinism and free will are two opposite terms which are not compatible with one another for many reasons. …show more content…

Free will is one of the many gifts which God gave to humanity and it is in our power to make the right decisions. On the other hand, determinism deprives each human of the ability of choosing and having the power to make their own decisions. Determinism cannot be true as our actions are not pre-determined before events happen. God gave us the gift of free will because He has predestined what will happen to use during our lives. Galen Strawson stated “if events are not necessitated to occur just as they do, then we are still unable to exert control over our choices and actions” (Ethical Theory, 2012). The gift of free will results in an agent choosing their own course of action which is not determined by any previous or future events. The agent carries out their action in the way in which they wish to do so, and the agent makes their own choices. When an agent acts using their free will, they are right to be held morally responsible for their actions because events and actions are not pre-determined. For example, “a man's motives are not given by what was happening to him immediately before he started to act” (The Philosophical Review, 1957). Humanity have the gift of free will which allows us to make our own decisions. Free will can be a curse for some of us and for others it can be a blessing. God gave us the gift of free will so that we could live our life according to God and this would influence humanity to make the right decisions, but this is not always the case. Determinism if it were true, would mean that all our choices and actions would already be planned out including the bad ones, but Calvinists believe all of humanity go to either heaven or hell and this was predestined by God. When an agent makes a wrong decision and is punished, it would be morally wrong to blame God because the reason He gave

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