Freedom And Determinism ( its for philosphy class) Essay

Freedom And Determinism ( its for philosphy class) - Essay Example idered the enigma of whether people freely exercise their own choices or if their ultimate fate is actually determined by some mysterious external force. If not for free will, no one could be held accountable for their actions because all behavior, whether good or bad, moral or immoral would be predetermined therefore out of an individuals control. However, most people sincerely believe they possess free will, as evidenced by Darwin’s evolution theory which indicates that â€Å"we do in fact have free will, that we can decide and determine our futures within the limits of physical reality† (Truth and Reality, 2007). A person can chose to, for example, type an essay or go watch television. Simple reasoning dictates that people, and animals for that matter, have the freedom of choice. We are not robots or puppets acting out in some cosmic entities stage play. The power is within each of us to alter behaviors, even long-standing patterns of behavior. The choice to take the right or left direction when we reach a fork in the road is completely ours. It would be unjust to imprison anyone for a crime if society as a whole was not convinced that free will did not exist. Common sense dictates that people have and exercise freedom of choice. William James explained this point of view maybe better than anyone by saying â€Å"people experience regret or sorrow only because they could have done otherwise.† (Stumpf, 1984) According to the concept of determinism, free will is only an illusion as described by Baron dHolbach. People are unable to alter their behaviors because actions are determined by events preceding those actions. The determinism theory dictates that all actions are determined by universal laws. In other words, if only people were fully aware of the inner-workings of the universe, they could reliably forecast impending actions. â€Å"Any present event, including human behavior, is caused by an antecedent cause† (Weiss, 1996). The merits of