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What is freedom to me
Existentialism into the wild
What is freedom to me
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Determinism
Determinism states that natural laws determine the way things will be. Therefore, if one day all the laws of nature and fundamental particles in the universe are understood, it would be possible to apply these laws and characteristics to determine how everything will be, including how each decision made will turn out. If everything can be determined in this way, and the result of a decision is already known, then it is not possible to have free will, because there is no option not to choose the choice already predicted.
B.F. Skinner excerpt from “Freedom and the Control of Men”
This article argues that there is no true free will, considering there are always rules for ways to act and think that have been engrained into every human’s head by society. It is not quite so noticeable because many times this brainwashing is presented as a suggestion rather than a threat. Even the education system is teaching society’s version of the truth, and the right way to act. In this way, everyone is being controlled in some way and nobody truly has free will.
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As a result, humans first exist, and then define themselves later. Seeing as humans make their own essence, they are what they make of themselves, therefore, what they want to be. This is the first principle of existentialism, and means that people are responsible for what they are. This means that not every human chooses what they are, but in choosing, one person chooses for all people. This, if people are responsible for choosing themselves and the decisions they make, they have free
As a philosophical theory, determinism itself lays claim to truth, which therewith presupposes freedom, in accordance with what I have just said.
The argument of free will and determinism is a very complex argument. Some might say we have free will because we are in control; we have the ability to make our own choices. Others might say it’s in our biological nature to do the things we do; it’s beyond our control. Basically our life experiences and choices are already pre determined and there’s nothing we can do to change it. Many philosophers have made very strong arguments that support both sides.
Hard determinism argues that all events are caused. Hard determinists define human thoughts and actions as events. If human thoughts and actions are events, then they must be caused. If every human thought and action is caused, then humans do not have the ability to choose their own thoughts and actions because they are entirely dependent on prior causes. If this is the case, there can be no such thing as free will.
Consider this argument: 'If the future is already determined, then it must be possible to know in advance what will happen. But, if that is so, then free will is impossible.' Do you agree? Is there any satisfactory way of acting freely if determinism is true?
Moving forward, according to John Cowburn author of Free Will, Predestination and Determinism (2008), “determinism is the philosophical view is that all humans’ actions are predetermined and that every event an individual encounters can be explained.” (p. 144)” Thus, every event that has happened in one’s life, happens as a result of previous events.
Firstly, the determinist argue that “everything we do is cause by forces over which we have no control (James & Stuart Rachels 110). The free will this theory speaks of is most likely on the biological level, as there are many natural events that occur that people have no control over. For example, the act of cellular reproduction, this
Determinism is the theory that everything is caused by antecedent conditions, and such things cannot be other than how they are. Though no theory concerning this issue has been entirely successful, many theories present alternatives as to how it can be approached. Two of the most basic metaphysical theories concerning freedom and determinism are soft determinism and hard determinism.
The discussion of free will and its compatibility with determinism comes down to one’s conception of actions. Most philosophers and physicists would agree that events have specific causes, especially events in nature. The question becomes more controversial when philosophers discuss the interaction between human beings, or agents, and the world. If one holds the belief that all actions and events are caused by prior events, it would seem as though he would be accepting determinism
The discussion of free will and its compatibility with determinism comes down to one’s conception of actions. Most philosophers and physicists would agree that events have specific causes, especially events in nature. The question becomes more controversial when philosophers discuss the interaction between human beings, or agents, and the world. If one holds the belief that all actions and events are caused by prior events, it would seem as though he would be accepting determinism. For if an event has a particular cause, the event which follows must be predetermined, even if this cause relates to a decision by a human being. Agent causation becomes important for many philosophers who, like me, refuse to accept the absence of free will in the universe.
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
Determinism is based off this notion that all events are pre-determined, without influence by human actions. If this is true, we can imply that people do not have free will and thus are not responsible for their actions. In Oedipus the King we see that the dichotomy of fate and free will is hazed by the hyperbole of events, which can make it difficult, but possible, to determine if humans even have free will. Through Oedipus’s flaws and decisions and Sophocles use of the imagery of a crossroad it is apparent that free will can be exercised in a meaningful way.
The question that the textbook poses at the very beginning of chapter four is, “Are you Free” (Chaffee, 2013, p. 172). Most people would look at this question as pretty cut and dry and would answer a resounding yes. Philosophically speaking, it is not that easy an answer. You have to be willing to look at the question with an open mind, and ask yourself if the choices you make are truly free, or if they are governed by forces outside of your control. In the following paper I intend to compare and contrast the three major philosophical viewpoints regarding this question, and come to a conclusion on which I find the right answer.
Signed languages are of the visual-kinetic modality, as Joseph Hill explains. American Sign Language (ASL) “is a complete, complex language that employs signs made by moving the hands combined with facial expressions and postures of the body” ("American Sign Language"). ASL is not a common language used by the general population in the United States, as it is primarily used within the deaf community. Due to less common use, historical restrictions on use and education of ASL, and general misconceptions about this language, ASL is not commonly recognized as a full language, nor are individuals who use ASL given the same total legal rights as their verbal language using counterparts. It is important for the general public to understand that ASL is a real language and worthy of its status as a language as evidenced by a variety of characteristics and rules held by ASL.
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).
In existentialism one’s mind and body are ultimately free, they have nothing controlling their actions; that freedom is in the way one communicates, one’s actions, one’s choices, one’s