Determinism :: essays research papers

In this essay I will give a clear and knowledgeable understanding of determinism by carefully explaining and comparing hard determinism and soft determinism. It will also be clarified that if either hard or soft determinism were true then there still would be a positive point to human action. Furthermore I will acknowledge that if one were to take on the views of a hard determinist then they would have to change both their emotional and personal relationships with other people. However, if one were to take on the view of a soft determinist then they would not have to change their relationship or opinions of people. Determinism is the philosophical view that every event that takes place can be explained. In other words every event that occurs, happens as a result of an event or set of events that have occurred before it. (Hoefer, 2005) According to this theory, if determinism is truethen, given the actual past, only one future is possible at any moment in time. Although determinists follow the same theory of determinism there are two different types of determinists: Hard determinists and Soft determinists. Both types of determinists share the same belief that everything is determined on a physical level that is, that all events that transpire within nature are determined by events that have happened before it. However they come into conflict when the discussion arises about non – physical determinants. Hard determinists believe that ones thoughts, decisions and actions are also determined by a set of events before them. The reason for this is that hard determinists view actions in the same category as events. Therefore if every event is caused by actions before it, the one taking the action could not have been able to act any differently. This is a very hard theory for some to comprehend, as they believe that if we do not have free will one is not in control of their actions and do not have a freedom of choice. (Nagel, 1987) Soft determinist’s although may believe that some decisions are determined they reject the meaning that hard determinists give to the words ‘free will’ and ‘moral responsibility’. Soft determinists believe that when someone states that they have made a free -will choice although they may know the decision is determined they went through the process of knowing that they are doing the choosing, that they had considered all other options and that no-one either externally or internally had corrupted their decision or made them choose a different option.