What is the nature of freedom? Or a better question should be, what is free will and do we have it? The definition of free will is not a simple answer. Free will tries to account for our introspective belief that we have control of our actions and as a result, our own destiny. Nothing in our lives is predetermined and every cause has an effect. Human actions are caused, but we can consider actions free if they are the result of internal motivations rather than external events, a belief known as soft determinism.
Some philosophers like Baron d’Holbach, would define free will as indeterminism. Indeterminism is the view that human actions are not necessarily determined by past events and causal laws. It reflects heavily on the belief that freedom is possible. Indeterminism is not what is meant by the phrase free will and is misused by most people, giving the term an incorrect meaning. Indeterminism is described by some as "uncaused action". Any action must be the action of a particular individual and must be caused by that individual. It refers to either theoretical or practical randomness. What is interesting is the question of whether certain actions are naturally unpredictable and what exactly is meant by it. The dominant suggestion that determinism is similar to what indeterminism primarily refers to, is …show more content…
Schlick agreed with the mainstream compatibilists that freedom means the opposite of compulsion. He theorized that there are internal constraints that act on our ability to act of our own free will. These internal constraints such as mental illness and neuroses prevent us from making rational decisions of our own free will and this leads us back to the theory of determinism. If an action is the result of deeply disturbed irrational desires, then it is not accurate to say that the action is free. Therefore we cannot hold the individual responsible for his or her
Some philosophers like Baron d’Holbach, would define free will as indeterminism. Indeterminism is the view that human actions are not necessarily determined by past events and causal laws. It reflects heavily on the belief that freedom is possible. Indeterminism is not what is meant by the phrase free will and is misused by most people, giving the term an incorrect meaning. Indeterminism is described by some as "uncaused action". Any action must be the action of a particular individual and must be caused by that individual. It refers to either theoretical or practical randomness. What is interesting is the question of whether certain actions are naturally unpredictable and what exactly is meant by it. The dominant suggestion that determinism is similar to what indeterminism primarily refers to, is …show more content…
Schlick agreed with the mainstream compatibilists that freedom means the opposite of compulsion. He theorized that there are internal constraints that act on our ability to act of our own free will. These internal constraints such as mental illness and neuroses prevent us from making rational decisions of our own free will and this leads us back to the theory of determinism. If an action is the result of deeply disturbed irrational desires, then it is not accurate to say that the action is free. Therefore we cannot hold the individual responsible for his or her