Free Will versus Determinism: A students perspective.

Niki Gango The University of Sydney.

The struggle between the concepts of free will and determinism has caused great debate in science, and in particular in psychology. The conceptual concerns raised by these two separate systems of understanding have resulted into much conflict on whether human nature acts in a deterministic manner or is free and selfappointed in nature. This essay attempts to summarise both standpoints in understanding, and suggest that the concepts of free will and determinism may not be entirely mutually exclusive. The question of non-mutually exclusive entities is raised and it is suggested that the two apparently separate concepts of free will and determinism can be observed in terms of a single interaction. Free Will versus Determinism: A students perspective. Will you read this, will you not? Do you have a choice in reading this or do you not. Some may argue that your fate has already been determined, before you even existed, before your parents existed, before the existence of your perception of time; others may suggest that you have the choice to choose, but is the consequence of that choice already determined? Do you believe that you have free will, or has your path been appointed to you, could you possibly be unconsciously walking down your given path now, unable to consciously appreciate or alter it? The predicament caused between the conflict of free, self-chosen, will and determinism has compelled many of the worlds scholars and lay throughout the ages. Yet, no clear and widely accepted resolve has been given to the issue. Could it be that this conflict simply does not exist? That the constructs of free-will and determinism are two mutually non-exclusive systems (much like the wave-particle duality of light) that do not really exist outside of the mind but are only a form of perception, a model, an unreality to describe that which may or may not be. The concept of free will revolves around the notion that we as humans have the ability to make choices and that these conscious choices exist, to an extent, irrespective from our own prior experience. Determinism on the other hand presents the idea that an event can be explained by a culmination of cause and effect relationships that have brought that occurring event into being.

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This essay attempts to display the idea that free will and determinism can be considered as non-mutually exclusive concepts, and that by considering them as nonmutually exclusive, the science of psychology may be able to better understand the underlying principles that cause and determine human behaviour. Much of the debate regarding the existence of free will is centred around the existence of emotional influences relating to the notion that we, as humans, have some form of free choice. It is often believed that a deterministic view of the world is pessimistic by nature and as a result, free will has spawned as a positive alternative, allowing for choice and mastery of destiny. This view has been adopted in the approaches of many humanistic theories of psychology such as that of A. Maslow (Maslow, 1962), which in general have been regarded with a greater level of positive outlook, but due to their un-scientific nature, remain largely un-testable in the scientific realm. Yet theories based on the existence of free will have much to give in providing an alternative perspective on what is a somewhat statistically dominated field, psychology. If free will allows for the freedom of choice, determinism can be viewed as the lack of real choice. The argument behind determinism is that every action can be accounted for by a sequence of causal chains that are responsible for the initiation of that action. This view suggests that no matter how complicated the universe seems, there is a pattern governing the nature of every possibility within its bounds. For example, the concept of hard determinism (Sappington, 1990) defines human behaviour as entirely determined by a variety of factors outside the person. Thus, determinism is also the primary viewpoint of most behaviourists. One commonality that is put forth by the majority of deterministic theorists is the idea that free will is an illusionary state (Freud, 1916-1917). Hence, due to the logical implications of determinism (the cause and effect relationship), it has become the basis for scientific theory. Although the concepts of free will and determinism appear to act largely in solitude and exist mutually exclusively of each other, the two may be considered as an interaction. The nature of determinism holds that every element of life is causally related, whilst the nature of free will maintains for the existence of choice. However,
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both systems of description appear applicable as analysed through the perspective of the other. In a deterministic world, for instance, free will may prevail at a level that even though everything is determined, the nature of complexity (based on the volume of deterministic factors) is so great; it may be considered random and free. Whereas in a free world, patterns (determinism) may still be emergent in the outcomes of freely, self determined choices. Thus even though the two systems of free will and determinism may appear to be greatly distinct and incompatible it is important to note that they may be observed as an interaction, rather then a definite model of behaviour. Similar to the wavepartial duality of light, which states that light can be observed either as a particle (mass) or a wave (energy), there appears to be a possibility for a similar reasoning between free, self-generated, will and determinism. Just in the same means as our senses are fallible (i.e.: vision is a state of mind), so are our interpretations of the world (Mackay, 1981), leading to a greater need for critical consideration in the study of human behaviour. Therefore,, in consideration of both the model of free will and that of determinism, it is initially important that the concepts be observed in isolation. However, in attempting to depict a non-mutually exclusive relationship between the two entities, consideration of the interaction between the two systems of understanding underpins a third, largely neglected perspective on the contentious issue. By providing evidence that determinism may not be all that unrelated from free will and vice versa, it is possible to interpret the two systems of thought to be in coexistence. Thus, providing for further debate on the issue, and allowing for a greater level of flexibility of perception and interpretation of behaviour within the science of psychology. References Freud, S. (1916-1917). Introductory lectures on psycho-analysis. Standard Edition, vol. XV. London: Hogarth.

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Mackay, D. M. (1981). On the logical indeterminacy of a free choice. Mind, 69, 3140. Maslow, A. H. (1962). Towards a Psychology of Being. New York: Van Nostrand. Sappington, A. A. (1990). Recent psychological approaches to the free will versus determinism issue. Psychological Bulletin, 108, 19-29.

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