we do not possess any genuine freedom to act ethically

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Sofia Thuru

“We do not possess any genuine freedom to act ethically” Discuss.

The debate of whether we have genuine freedom to act ethically or whether, by contrast, we are determined to do so is a topic of great relevance even today. Nowadays, our societies are based on a principle of social contracts. This means that our actions are social as well as personal. If one individuals breaks the rules imposed he will be automatically punished. But how far can one be held responsible for his actions in view of the social, genetical and environmental factors that determine his behaviour and way of thinking?

Determinism argues that all human actions and choices are caused entirely by preceding events. We do not have the free will to cause an event. There are many different positions of determinism: hard determinism, physical and psychological determinism and, the most recent, behavioural determinism. All essentially argue that we do not possess freedom to act. All experiences of freedom that we may have are, in reality, illusions. Locke illustrated this point by describing a sleeping man locked in a room. The man is locked and has no free will over where to be. In waking up the man has the power to decide where he wants to be, however, not realising that the door is locked, he decides to stay inside anyway. This naturalistic view suggests that man is part of the mechanical universe. Man acts according to the natural laws, not against them, therefore, his actions are arguably also predictable. D’Holbach illustrated the point thus: “Man, who thinks himself free, is a fly who imagines he has the power to move the universe, while is himself unkowingly carried along by it.”

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Free-will, or Libertarianism, by contrast, is the idea that we have complete moral responsibility and we are not compelled to act by outside forces as we follow our intuitions. Scientifically talking, the idea of freedom relates to the casualty of randomness. In other words, as opposed to the mechanical universe where everything thing follows from one event to another, here, events are completely random.  

The debate of whether we really do have the freedom to act ethically is still significant today. Indeed, there are some modern theories and examples of Determinism that have emerged. Generally speaking, most scientistific ...

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