Free Will vs. Determinism Essay

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Free Will vs. Determinism

Society walks about day-by-day living their lives and never really thinking or breaking down how their day unfolds or why it plays out the way it does. Some people have said that individuals have a choice and are able to decide on where their day goes. Others on the other hand would argue this assessment and state that your day and your life as whole are all pre determined. The different is free will vs. determinism. Do you believe we live in a free will world or has everything been planed out and is determined to happen no matter what? To start out on finding an answer to this question we must first break down the two terms and a bit about their background and what they mean to us as an individual walking …show more content…
This is called indeterminism, meaning “a philosophical position that maintains that any form of determinism is incorrect because it is ultimately metaphysical”(White) So, lets look at some of the ideas and structure of free will and some of the people who had and still do have a huge influence on the approach to how we live our lives. Aristotle was a huge part of free will; he was a Greek philosopher and a student of Plato. Also is thought that he was a teacher to Alexander The Great. Aristotle was known as a common sense philosopher, believing that most of what we do is by our choices. He also believed this choices were voluntary and involuntary as well. He also believed that “the lives of individual human beings are invariably linked together in a social context”(White)
Next we have William James an American psychologist and philosopher best known for his views on free will and philosophy as well as pragmatism. Pragmatism is the belief that what ever works, works because it is true. Basically validity of an idea lies within its practical consequences. This gives an individual free will by letting them think and make choices in an analytical sense. Coming up with an idea or approach to a situation but then presenting another route that is just as enjoyable or likely to be taken in the situation. If a person
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