Defense Paper 3
Domonique Jones
Grand Canyon University

The predetermined question is if free will and determinism can co-exist, or what are the contrast of the two. Over the weeks in this course different discussions have come into place, free will verses determinism is by far one of the most opinionated to me. The free will theory states, that if someone is to act freely, then they must be the originator of the actions that they display. When free will is discussed it is considered to be an act in which we act freely, without any constrains in doing so. For example if I am kidnapped and taken into a store where the subjects tells me to steal certain things or he will kill me, it is not free will because I am being instructed to do something that I don’t want to do, but in doing so it could save my life. Free will also touches on a person’s belief and can be identified in different situations, many believers , believe that God is the center of all things, and no matter their circumstance that God will see that in the end he will make best of the situation for them. As a believer of Christ I believe that God covers me and that he is my covenant, and that he will always take care of me no matter one.
There are several saying that individuals use that helps to verify predetermines. For example “If its mint to be then it will be. However I do believe that free will has a more psychological approach and has more explanations to verify the way in which ones may feel. Determinism gives more of a biological approach. The theory of determinism explains a way in which ideas or an event have a cause an effect result. Furthermore I will discuss why free will position is more of the one in which I choose, and the influences in which psychology has in this matter.
Determinism verses free will has continued to be a topic of discussion for many years. Individual seem to believe that one is better than the other, due to free will being about having the freedom to make a choice, verses determinism is considered to be a process in which you have no choice in the decision making process or lack thereof real choice. The discussion on determinism is that every action can be accounted for by variables that is responsible for the action in the first place. Determinist believe that every reaction is a result of an action. For example, the concept of determinism (Sappington, 1990) defines human behavior as being determined by a variety of factors outside the person. Determinism is known as a primary viewpoint of behaviorists. It has become very common be deterministic theorists, to believe that the theory which surrounds free will is a state of illusion (Freud, 1916-1917).
The cause and effect relationship of determinism, has developed into the based focused on scientific theory. Free will is maintained in existence due to the belief of choice, and determinism remains as the factor that every element in life is related to one another. Both topics both free will and determinism are both valuable topics and each individual view will have different perspective depending on their viewpoint.
In regards to free will a person is considered to be responsible for any action in which they do. (Bandura 1961) formed a hypothesis that stated that all children born to violent parents, will become violent themselves. Behaviorist are one sided in the determinism theory (Skinner, 1971). Skinner was very verbal in his conclusion in pertaining to determinism. He believe that all individuals are a product of their environment. From his research he found that there is no know factor supporting that claim. Skinner believed that when a person breaks the law, that there is no choice on their behalf, he believed that individuals take direction based on their environment and or circumstances, and family history background. Which means, that people break the law because it’s a natural way of being, not because they choose to do so.
Sigmund Freud believed that