Philosophical Theory Of Determinism: General Overview

Determinism is a belief in the inevitability of causation. Everything that happens is the only possible thing that could happen. The chains and networks of causes are so powerful and inexorable that every outcome is inevitable (Baumeister, 2009). In other words, everything that did happen was the only possible thing that could have happened at that point in time and space, given the causes. This paper attempts to discuss and analyze the main points at the issue of determinism and its link to related concepts such as free will.

According to Wiggins (1973), many arguments assert that there is an entailing truth indeterminism that one’s actions are not up to them since these actions are inevitable consequences of circumstances over which one lacks control. This argument is supported by Peter van Inwagen’s book, An Essay on Free Will (1983) which articulates that the truthfulness of determinism may justify that one’s acts are the consequences of the laws of nature and past events. However, one does not hold his fate before he was born and one holds no control of the laws of nature.

Debatable issues on determinism have become an increasingly stronger position to take while many oppose understanding its implications. The theory holds that all events, including moral choices, are completely determined by previously existing causes. Given these clear claims explaining the nature of determinism, it still became the subject of debates that compare the significance of the theory with another relevant stand. The debate revolves around the extent to which one’s behavior is the result of forces over which one has no control or whether people are able to decide for themselves whether to act or behave in a certain way (McLeod, 2019).

Meanwhile, there are different levels of determinism. The first level is hard determinism which believes that every event and action has a cause. B.F. Skinner and other behaviorists are strong believers of this concept. Soft determinism on the other hand represents a middle ground, people do have a choice but that choice is constrained by external or internal factors. It suggests that some behaviors are more constrained than others and that there is an element of free will in all behavior (McLeod, 2019).

As a philosophical theory, determinism itself lays claim to truth, which therewith presupposes freedom. Determinism, however, denies the possibility of freedom: therefore this appears to be a contradiction that discredits determinism as a logically inconsistent and self-contradictory position. A study on Determinism, Self-Reference, and Morality conducted by T.P. Uschanov considered three propositions: (1) Nobody may be held responsible for their conduct if they could not have done anything other than they did in fact do. (2) If determinism is true, every piece of human conduct occurs under conditions such that, given those conditions, nothing else could have occurred. (3) If determinism is true, nobody may be held responsible for their conduct.

The idea that determinism can have no bearing on moral responsibility is not new as such. But questions arise regarding its moral problematic implications. It is thought that one cannot be sensibly blamed or praised for one’s behavior. Suddenly, murderers, rapists, burglars, and fraudulent sales are determined by prior conditions. It is typically thought that these are counter-intuitive implications of determinism. Possibilities that fail to get realized are, for determinism, pure illusions: they never were possibilities at all.

According to the belief of determinist, Individuals having a conscious decision, voluntary or not, this decision is being influenced by a multitude of determinants. Just like genes, culture, current situations, upbringing, and also past experiences are included in determinants. Modern Determinists viewed determinism that encouraging our ability to deal with how we view ourselves and others. We as rational beings believe that each and every one of us does our best given the particular combination of determinants, instead of looking to our mistakes and to others. Individuals who believe in the concept of free will blame others for not choosing the right thing and choosing the right decisions. The determinist pointed out and argue that if free will existed, we might achieve wealth and happiness and we possess health. None of us have control in our lives, we are disillusioned and giving up trying that would lead us to become defensive and self-defeating behavior (Gill, 2005).