In: Psychology
Explain the elements of the Free Will debate. Do you think that we ultimately have free will, or that our actions are mostly determined by our environment, genetic factors, and/or the time period when we are born?
Please write an initial post of at least 200 words
Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.
(Answer) In order to fully understand the notion of whether or not one has absolute free-will, the hypothesis would have to be tested and not merely stated without any evidence. Let us assume that John Doe is a Democrat. As a part of his research on free-will, he decides to go to Alabama and put up a table at a local fair. At his table, he talks about the flaws in the Republican Party and the ethics of the Democratic Party.
His actions would be equal to wearing the wrong colours at a sports game. One might have an absolute free will to conduct free speech or actions that do not hurt anyone or usurp the freedom of another. This can only be determined by the reception of the public.
John Doe is likely to be sent away from the public fair even though he did not hurt anyone or incite hate through his speech. This reaction would be revoked because the people around him simply disagree with his opinions. On the other hand, people might come to his table and engage in a formal debate or a discourse of different options. In the second scenario, John and the people around him might disagree but, they do not attempt to thwart each other because of a different opinion.
This might be so for a democracy that exercises the freedom of speech. The situation might be entirely different in a state that does not particularly encourage a free press. Considering that there are several factors that might attempt to curb individuals who do not agree with popular opinions or autocratic leaders, it is safe to assume that free will is not absolute and might be circumstantial.