Free Will Theory

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When considering whether free will is an illusion or is not an illusion, it is crucial to examine four significant philosophical ideologies: determinism (hard), compatibilism, fatalism, and libertarianism. Free will is the power of acting without the constraint of fate. In considering this question of free will, there are two are two arguments to consider; free will is an illusion or free will is not an illusion. Each argument is substantiated from one or more of the three previously mentioned philosophical ideologies nonetheless, this assignment will demonstrate that free will is an illusion through the ideological standpoint of hard determinism and fatalism. This argument will be manifested through identifying and explaining each argument …show more content…

However, what if a person has limited desires and moral beliefs, then an external constraint is placed on that person, stripping them of their free will. For example, if a girl only grows up in a household in which she was domestically abused by her parents, in terms of compatibilism, she may believe that as a parent she has the opportunity to choose to beat her kids. However, being domestically abused her entire childhood, this is the only thing the woman knows, thus she beats her kids. Though she thought she had the choice, her actions were actually pre-determined because of causal effects, thus she had no free will-making it an …show more content…

As previously stated, determinism relies on previous causes. Fatalism differs, stating that one’s life is determined by a higher power, such as God. (Rice, 2014, p. 1). According to Taylor (1962), a fatalist may think that God is ‘all-knowing’ and ‘all-powerful’ and that he has, “arranged for everything to happen just as it is going to happen” (p.56). As God is responsible for each person’s life, that person is stripped of their free will and ultimately there is nothing left for that person to do. Fatalism may support the idea that free will is an illusion, but it is also dismissed by determinists because of its disbelief in causation. For example, if fatalism created a pre-determined life, people would be less inclined to work hard in school because it was destined that they would get into a university. On the other hand, determinism would argue that people would be hard working because of the way they were raised, thus pre-determined to get into

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