Gottfried Leibniz has several theories when it comes to determinism, and he is the philosopher who states different deterministic views from his ideas on monads to his different principles that he states in his writings. Strict determinism, if followed may have one of two outcomes in society, either determinism can be seen as a comfort, or it may be seen as detrimental to social structure and order. Although in the most extreme, it is possible for it to be detrimental. However, it is dependent on a balance of a person’s nature, and what qualities of perfection God has granted them. People all have different and varying degrees of qualities, which they are already given when created, and it is through the attainment of knowledge and the application of reason that they choose the path, which they would follow. Leibniz believes that all that is to happen is within us already and comes out at the right time. In concerns to such, Gottfried Leibniz (1714/2009) states, “And since every present state of a simple substance is a natural consequence of its preceding state, the present is pregnant with the future.”
Believing in determinism is not something that means a complete loss of free will yet it is difficult to see whether we have free will if everything that will be for us is already planned and waiting to come out. Looking at the surface of determinism one may believe that strict determinism if believed and followed may lend itself to chaos in society. Free will is a matter of choice although the principle of sufficient reason charges that the choice is something where they could not have done otherwise dependent on prior events depending on prior events to infinity.
Cecilia Wee (2006) makes a point about how Leibniz says that one ...
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Davidson, J. (1998). Imitators of god: Leibniz on human freedom. Journal of the History of Philosophy, 36(3), 387-412. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/210611444?accountid=4117
Wee, C. (2006). Descartes and Leibniz on human free-will and the ability to do otherwise. Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 36(3), 387-414,458. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195307794?accountid=4117
Leibniz, G.W. (2009). The principals of philosophy, or the modanology. In R. Ariew & E. Watkins, (2d ed.), Modern philosophy; an anthology of primary sources, (pp. 275-283). Portland, OR: Hackett Publishing Company. (Original work published 1714)
Kane, Robert. "Free Will: Ancient Dispute, New Themes." Feinberg, Joel and Russ Safer-Landau. Reason and Responsibility: Readings in Some Basic Problems of Philosophy. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. 425-437. Print.
In determining the free will of a human’s nature many philosophers want to solve the dilemma of determinism. The dilemma of determinism is as follows (Rowe, p.587):
ABSTRACT: There are good reasons for determinism — the option for pure freedom of will proves to be a non-tenable position. However, this collides with the everyday experience of autonomy. The following argument will attempt to show that determinism and autonomy are compatible. (1) A first consideration going back to MacKay makes clear that I myself cannot foresee in principle my own determination; hence fatalism has lost its grounds. (2) From the perspective of physical determination, I show that quantum-physical indetermination is not at all in a position to explain autonomy, while from the perspective of systems theory physical determination and autonomy is well-compatible. (3) The possibility of knowledge denotes a further increase of such autonomy. From this perspective, acting is something like designing-oneself or choice-of-oneself. (4) Consciousness of not being fixed in principle now becomes a determining condition of my acting, which appears to be determined by autonomy. This explains the ineradicable conviction that freedom of will is essential for human beings. (5) I conclude that the autonomy of acting is greater the more that rational self-determination takes the place of stupid arbitrariness.
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.
The question of whether people can choose their thoughts and actions or not has been a topic many great thinkers throughout history have thought about. Yet, despite countless arguments for and against it, no one has been able to prove whether free will exists or not. Free will is the ability to make a choice not determined by outside stimuli. The opposite of free will is determinism. Hard determinists argue that there is no such thing as free will; people don’t have the ability to choose freely, undetermined from outside stimuli. Yet despite many compelling arguments for the case, hard determinism disregards the unique quality of humanity. Humanity has the ability to think and reason, which ultimately gives them the unique attribute of agent-causation.
It has been sincerely obvious that our own experience of some source that we do leads in result of our own free choices. For example, we probably believe that we freely chose to do the tasks and thoughts that come to us making us doing the task. However, we may start to wonder if our choices that we chose are actually free. As we read further into the Fifty Readings in Philosophy by Donald C. Abel, all the readers would argue about the thought of free will. The first reading “The System of Human Freedom” by Baron D’Holbach, Holbach argues that “human being are wholly physical entities and therefore wholly subject to the law of nature. We have a will, but our will is not free because it necessarily seeks our well-being and self-preservation.” For example, if was extremely thirsty and came upon a fountain of water but you knew that the water was poisonous. If I refrain from drinking the water, that is because of the strength of my desire to avoid drinking the poisonous water. If I was too drink the water, it was because I presented my desire of the water by having the water overpowering me for overseeing the poison within the water. Whether I drink or refrain from the water, my action are the reason of the out coming and effect of the motion I take next. Holbach concludes that every human action that is take like everything occurring in nature, “is necessary consequences of cause, visible or concealed, that are forced to act according to their proper nature.” (pg. 269)
Russell, Paul. “Hume on Free Will.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, CSLI, Stanford University, 14 December 2007.
Over the past decade, scientists have conducted research on the effects of a belief in determinism, a belief that one acts with predetermined outcomes, on behavior and values of people. In two 2008 studies,
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.
Descartes, Rene. The Philosophical Writings, tr. John Cottingham and Dugald Murdoch. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
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
All in all, each view about 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 it 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.
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.
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).
Philosophy can be broken down into many different time periods and many different philosophers who each have beliefs on different ideas. A prevalent topic in philosophy is the idea of personal freedoms and the idea of determinism and why and how events take place. There are many different views on determinism; there is the default form determinism, hard determinism, indeterminism, and soft determinism. For determinism, three philosophers who are well know on the subject of determinism are Baron Paul Henri d’Holbach, Robert Kane, and John Stuart Mill’s as they are all different forms of determinist. Baron Paul Henri d’Holbach largely discuss the ideals or default determinism and what specifically makes an event happen. Baron Paul Henri d’Holbach also talks about the ideas of hard determinism. Robert Kane’s man focus is on how determinism differs from indeterminism and who is responsible for events taking place, Kane is also responsible