Analysis Of The Philosophical Concepts Of Determinism And...

Analysis of Free Will The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy defines â€Å"free will† as the discretion to choose between varieties of courses of action.The debate and arguments that surround free will have occupied philosophers for many centuries. Many scholars believe that the concept of free will is connected to the concept of responsibility, guilt, sin and other judgments that apply to the actions that are freely chosen by people. Other philosophers also link free will to the concept of persuasion, prohibition and advice that make no point unless different possible results arise from the courses of action. Determinism, on the other hand, is a philosophical concept that states that human actions are ultimately determined by causes that are†¦show more content†¦Proponents of free will would say yes, and those who believe in determinism would argue no. It is worth noting that within the debate of free will there exist three distinct positions; determinism, Compatibi lism (soft determinism) and hard determinism. Determinism as earlier mentioned holds that our Will is absolutely free and as a result we are not determined to do what we do. Compatibilism, also known as Soft Determinism holds that we have a level of free will despite the fact that there exist external forces beyond our control. Lastly, Hard Determinism holds that determinism is true and is not compatible with free will hence free will does not exist. Therefore, I tend to believe that free will indeed exists but is not logically plausible but is rather a version of determinism. The main reason I don’t agree that free will is more reasonably plausible is because, in the presence of other factors, both internal and external, human beings have a degree of control over their actions The concept of determinism presents a complex problem for the theory of free will. How can people make free choices if all their actions are determined by factors from the past and other laws of nature? As such, how can people be held morally responsible if their actions have no free will? These questions are not