Ethics: Theory and Practice

1. Ethics: Theory and Practice Jacques P. Thiroux Keith W. Krasemann

2. Chapter Six Freedom Versus Determinism

3. The Meaning of Determinism • Determinismmeans the same thing as universal causation; that is, for every effect, event, or occurrence in reality, a cause or causes exists • There is no such thing as an uncaused event

4. Determinism • Determinism holds serious implications for morality: • How can we tell people what they should or ought to do if they are programmed or predetermined to act in the ways they do? • How can we praise, blame, reward, and punish if people cannot help acting in the ways they do?

5. Types and Theories of Determinism • Religious determinism (predestination) is the theory that if God is all-powerful and all-knowing, then He must have predestined everything that occurs

6. Types and Theories of Determinism Problems with religious determinism: How do you prove that there is such a being and, if He does exist, that he is all-powerful and all-knowing and has predestined everything Most theories of salvation require free will

7. Scientific Determinism • Physical determinism arose from discoveries in the physical sciences: • Newton theorized that everything in reality is basically material, or physical, in nature and is therefore completely determined by natural laws, such as the law of gravity

8. Scientific Determinism Problems with physical determinism: Natural law states probabilities, not certainties Modern physics has raised serious doubts about Newtonian physics

9. Biological and Genetic Determinism • Charles Darwin’s theories – that species evolve by means of natural selection and that only the fittest survive – led to a belief that nature determines human beings • Human beings are totally determined by their genetic makeup, over which they have no control

10. Biological and Genetic Determinism • Problems: • Biological and genetic determinism reduce human beings strictly to the physical, disregarding the possibility of a mental or spiritual side

11. Social-Cultural Determinism • Historical or cultural determinism arose from the theories of Georg Hegel • Hegel maintained that an absolute mind is trying to realize itself in perfection and manifest itself through the history of the world • Human beings, therefore, are completely determined by their past and present history and cultures

12. Historical Determinism • Problems: • It is difficult to prove the existence of both an “absolute mind” and a mind that can exist without a body • Other theories of history are just as plausible, if not more so

13. Economic Determinism • Economic, or social, determinism arose from the theories of Karl Marx • Marx says that human beings are determined by economic class struggles that inevitably will lead to a classless society • Problems: • The theory is based on unproved assumptions (other theories are equally plausible) • Other noneconomic influences exist

14. Psychological Determinism • Psychological determinism arose out of the work of Freud and the behaviorists • Freudian psychology maintains that human beings are effected by their unconscious drives and their attempts to repress them to the extent that their early childhood determines the course of their adult lives • The main criticism of this theory is that it is too generalized to have any real basis in fact

15. Psychological Determinism • The type of psychological determinism espoused by the behaviorists, particularly B. F. Skinner, maintains that human beings are completely physical beings whose development is totally determined by those external stimuli provided by their physical and cultural environments

16. Psychological Determinism • Problems: • It is based on a completely materialistic view of human beings, which does not stand up to evidence or argument • Like Freud’s theories, it goes too far in its claims, using the validity of operant conditioning in some instances as a basis for claiming its validity in all instances

17. Fatalism • Fatalism is the belief that all events are irrevocably fixed and predetermined so that human beings cannot alter them in any way • Sometimes events are outside of our control, but it does not make sense to act as if all events were outside of human control • This is an impractical theory by which few people, if any, really attempt to life their lives

18. Hard Determinism • Hard determinism is the theory that all events are caused but that some events and causes originate with human beings • The hard determinist criticizes the soft determinist by questioning how human beings can be said to originate any events when, if one traces causes back far enough, they end up being outside of the control of human beings

19. Soft Determinism • Soft determinism maintains that there is universal causation, but, unlike hard determinists, they believe that some of this causation originates with human beings, thus giving meaning to the phrase “human freedom”

20. Indeterminism • Indeterminists maintain that there is a certain amount of chance and freedom in the world and that not everything is caused • William James says that he desires that there by novelty and spontaneity in the world, allowing human beings to be free and creative • James feels that our strivings for good over the bad and our regrets over our bad deeds mean that we must be free

21. Indeterminism • Problems: • It seems to be based upon wishful thinking rather than upon evidence or logical argument • There is little evidence to suggest that uncaused events exist • If some events are totally uncaused, then they are not caused by anything or anybody; therefore, indeterminism is no guarantee of human freedom, only of chance

22. Criticisms of Hard Determinism and Arguments for Freedom • Hard determinists push language out of context • Their arguments do not account for the complexity of the nature of human beings • Like the psychological egoist, they try to reduce what is in fact really complex to something simple, and this reductionism will not work

23. Criticisms of Hard Determinism and Arguments for Freedom • Human minds and human perceptions are open ended and creative – humans create their experience of the world • They are not mere passive receivers of sense experience • Humans are active seekers and creators

24. Criticisms of Hard Determinism and Arguments for Freedom • Soft determinism seems to be the only tenable position • Acceptance of this position allows us to assign moral responsibility to human beings and to praise, blame, reward, and punish them when and if it is justifiable to do so