Free Will, Fulfilling the Desires of the Individual - Essay Example

Free will Grade (April 24th, Free will What is free will? Free will refers to the ability of an individual to select a course of action that fulfills the desires of the individual (Vaughn, 2012). Thus, it simply refers to the power held by an individual to act or not act in a certain way, when the individual is faced with a situation that requires him to make a decision. Therefore, free will proceeds from the determination of an individual’s own desire, and is therefore not affected or influenced by external forces. However, this definition of free will has always been criticized for not being able to encompass the human function that differentiates from other creations such as animals (Vaughn, 2012). This is because, the idea of determining a course of action based on one’s own desire can also apply to the animals, despite the fact that they lack the rational cognitive ability of evaluating their alternatives and consequences (Vaughn, 2012). Thus, it has been argued that the concept of free will should be purely based on the human rationally cognitive function, which is associated with the concept of moral responsibility. Under the moral responsibility principle, an individual is required to act freely (Vaughn, 2012). Therefore, the conclusive definition of free will is the ability of an individual to act rationally conscious in making a choice that is best, given the circumstances that an individual is facing. In this respect, free will adheres to the concept of sensitivity to one’s own judgment, based on the ethical possibilities of the choice taken, being right or wrong (Vaughn, 2012). Do we have free will? Most often, people act out of impulses, and are therefore unaware of the causes of their behaviors. The concept of genetic predisposition, coupled with the element of unconscious cues in the brain suggests that we do not have free will (Vaughn, 2012). This is because, out of the genetic predisposition of an individual, the individual finds himself acting in a certain way that he is not able to actively and consciously control. Therefore, suggestion that individuals have free is tantamount to asserting the fact that causality is not involved in the human decision-making process (Vaughn, 2012). This assertion is, in itself, very misleading. On the other hand, arguing that humans do not have a free will is downright mistaken, considering that such an argument would mean that humans do not involve an active mental action process while selecting alternatives. Such an argument would mean that as opposed to doing or performing some actions, things merely happen to individuals (Vaughn, 2012). Humans are actively engaging their mental processes in determining alternatives. Consequently, mental action is involved in the process of humans making choices, which in turn means that since a choice is a mental action, it is not causally determined, and thus humans have a free will (Vaughn, 2012). 2. Explain the following argument against free will: (1) If determinism is true, then we don’t have free will Determinism provides that the cause-effect relationship must be involved in the process of humans making choices (Vaughn, 2012). In this respect, any action, choice or event that happens in humans’ life must be preceded by a past occurrence and the laws of nature, which then shapes the subsequent future state of the occurrence. Therefore, everything that happens with humans largely depends on the humans previous deliberating, choosing and acting in a certain way (Vaughn, 2012). Thus, there exists unbroken chain of occurrences since the beginning of the world, which is responsible for everything that happens in present day. Therefore, according to determinism, there is nothing un-caused and there is nothing self-caused (Vaughn, 2012). This simply means that there is nothing that can spontaneously happen, without relating to a previous happening. Therefore, if determinism is true, then there is no free will, because free will entails mental action in making human choices. This eliminates any possibility of causality being responsible for any action. Since determinism requires that causality takes responsibility for everything that happens with humans, then, if determinism is true, then we don’t have free will. (2) If indeterminism is true, then we don’t have free will Indeterminism provides that actions occur randomly and as a matter of chance. This being the case, individuals find things happening, which were neither caused by any past events, occurrences or deliberations, and which were neither caused by any mental action of making a conscious choice (Vaughn, 2012). In this respect, such things just happen, and there is no human control in their occurrence. While the concept of free will requires that mental action is involved in the process of making a certain choice, the concept of indeterminism requires that no human control should be responsible for the occurrences in an individual’s life, and that such occurrences should be a matter of chance and randomness (Vaughn, 2012). Therefore, if indeterminism is true, then we don’t have free will. (4) Either determinism is true, or indeterminism is true Determinism provides that there must be a causal-effect relationship in everything that happens with humans (Vaughn, 2012). Therefore, the occurrences, choices and events affecting human life are based on past events, choices or deliberations by humans. On the other hand, indeterminism provides that humans are not responsible for anything that happens in their lives, and thus such happenings are a matter of chance and probability (Vaughn, 2012). Thus, humans just find things happening in their lives, but they cannot trace such happenings to a choice they had made or to any associated causes. On the contrary, free will provides that all actions and choices that are made by man have involved an active mental process, which eliminates both chance and causality as responsible for occurrences in human lives (Vaughn, 2012). Nevertheless, there are many behaviors for individual which are genetically predisposed such that an individual cannot control. This means that they have a cause. On the other hand, there are many events in life that happens without an individual planning for them or without being related to any previous occurrences or choices (Vaughn, 2012). Therefore, either determinism is true, or indeterminism is true. (4) Therefore, we don’t have free will Humans face events and occurrence which they have not planned for. They also face other events that they have previously deliberated on or chosen. Thus, some events will occur as a matter of causality, while others will occur as a matter of chance (Vaughn, 2012). These two provisions do not meet the free will fundamental requirement; that occurrence and events facing humans are not causally related to others or caused by mere randomness or chance, but by active mental process (Vaughn, 2012). Therefore, we don’t have free will. 3. Evaluate the argument, and raise interesting objections to the argument The argument that we don’t have free will is not valid. This is because, despite the fact that there are events and occurrence in life that face humans based either on causality or randomness and chance, there are still other events and occurrences that occur in human lives, based on the active mental actions (Vaughn, 2012). Under these actions, individuals make the choices and alternatives neither depending on the circumstances that they face, without any due regard to any form of external influences, and neither paying attention to past events nor depending on chance (Vaughn, 2012). Therefore, the argument that we don’t have free will is nether neither valid nor sound. What is a possible objection to premise 1? Everything in life does not happen based on previous causes. There are many events in life that are spontaneous. Therefore, the premise that; if determinism is true, then we don’t have free will, does not work. What is a possible objection to premise 2? In life, it is not everything that occurs as a matter of chance and randomness. Most of the actions, events and occurrences facing human life are well deliberated upon and planned, and yet many others have previous causes. Therefore, the premise that; if indeterminism is true, then we don’t have free will, does not work. What is a possible objection to premise 3? In life, many things happen, not out of any causality or just by mere chance, but because they have involved active mental action. Therefore, the premise that; either determinism is true, or indeterminism is true, does not work. Reference Vaughn, L. (2012). Great Philosophical Arguments: An Introduction to Philosophy. Oxford University Press. Read More