Are we free or determined?

The overarching question for this week is: Are we free or determined?

Behaviorists such as John Watson and B. F. Skinner believed that human behavior is determined by past events in our lives. Rather than being free, autonomous agents, we are the products of past conditioning. This raises serious questions about what extent we can hold people morally responsible for their actions.

Existentialists believe we as humans are defined by our freedom. Thus we have the responsibility to choose and follow moral principles and can be held entirely accountable for our actions and choices. 

• Do you agree with the behaviorists, who say free will is an illusion?
• Or do you side with the existentialists who suggest we are wholly defined by our free will, and there are no excuses for our behavior otherwise?
• Consider the determinism versus free will debate within the specific context of helping vulnerable populations such as people who are homeless, children, prisoners, and drug users. How does your position in the determinism versus free debate influence how you might treat or perceive these populations?

 

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