Stephen Cave’s article There’s No Such Thing As Free Will talks about whether we truly have free will and what society would be like if we didn’t have it. After reading the article, I disagree with the points it made. I believe that we have control of our actions and that we have free will and our own lives. The question of free will has been heavily debated throughout history, but it was most discussed during the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age was during the 19th century, mainly after the Civil War, when America was purging pungent ideals of the South. Authors such as Mark Twain and Kate Chopin created characters to show pre and post-Gilded Age. These characters include Huck and Jim from Mark Twain’s book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, as well
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The story of Huckleberry Finn is about a young boy named Huck who fakes his death to escape his drunken father and to have his freedom from society’s standards. When he runs away, he hides out on an island where he meets a runaway slave named Jim. They agree to work together so they both can have their freedom. The story of Huckleberry Finn can be related to the Gilded Age, when the book takes place, and the thought of freedom for African Americans. The Gilded Age was a time of reconstruction after the Civil War. It also gave rise to new ideas such as Social Darwinism and the Concept of Determinism. Social Darwinism is the idea that the strong in society will prosper, while the weak will die out. The Concept of Determinism is the thought that every action is caused by another thing, these ideas are seen in Mark Twain’s book. The Concept of Determinism is shown when Huck finds Jim hiding on the island and they talk about things that they believe in. This leads to Jim talking about the superstitions he believes in and what they mean. An example of this is when Huck wants to talk about the body they found but Jim just says “It would fetch bad luck; and besides, he …show more content…
This article talks about whether people truly have free will and what society would look like if there was no free will. I believe that this article's statement is wrong for several reasons. The first reason that I believe that this article is incorrect is because in the article it stated “It seems that when people stop believing they are free agents, they stop seeing themselves as blameworthy for their actions. Consequently, they act less responsibly and give in to their baser instincts.”(cite) What this sentence is saying is that when people believe that they don’t have a choice to do something, they are more willing to choose the immoral option. This doesn’t make sense because it says when people don’t have a choice, they are more likely to choose to do something that is morally unjust. Another point that the article made that I don’t agree with is that people are less inspired by people who do good. “Our heroes would seem less inspiring, he argues, our achievements less noteworthy, and soon we would sink into decadence and despondency.”(cite) This article is saying if someone is told to do something that is great people would not find that interesting. This goes against the real things that happen in our everyday lives. An example is the military. They are ordered to do all of these jobs, like protecting our country's borders, but we are still inspired by what they do. The Gilded
The story of Huckleberry Finn is about a young boy named Huck who fakes his death to escape his drunken father and to have his freedom from society’s standards. When he runs away, he hides out on an island where he meets a runaway slave named Jim. They agree to work together so they both can have their freedom. The story of Huckleberry Finn can be related to the Gilded Age, when the book takes place, and the thought of freedom for African Americans. The Gilded Age was a time of reconstruction after the Civil War. It also gave rise to new ideas such as Social Darwinism and the Concept of Determinism. Social Darwinism is the idea that the strong in society will prosper, while the weak will die out. The Concept of Determinism is the thought that every action is caused by another thing, these ideas are seen in Mark Twain’s book. The Concept of Determinism is shown when Huck finds Jim hiding on the island and they talk about things that they believe in. This leads to Jim talking about the superstitions he believes in and what they mean. An example of this is when Huck wants to talk about the body they found but Jim just says “It would fetch bad luck; and besides, he …show more content…
This article talks about whether people truly have free will and what society would look like if there was no free will. I believe that this article's statement is wrong for several reasons. The first reason that I believe that this article is incorrect is because in the article it stated “It seems that when people stop believing they are free agents, they stop seeing themselves as blameworthy for their actions. Consequently, they act less responsibly and give in to their baser instincts.”(cite) What this sentence is saying is that when people believe that they don’t have a choice to do something, they are more willing to choose the immoral option. This doesn’t make sense because it says when people don’t have a choice, they are more likely to choose to do something that is morally unjust. Another point that the article made that I don’t agree with is that people are less inspired by people who do good. “Our heroes would seem less inspiring, he argues, our achievements less noteworthy, and soon we would sink into decadence and despondency.”(cite) This article is saying if someone is told to do something that is great people would not find that interesting. This goes against the real things that happen in our everyday lives. An example is the military. They are ordered to do all of these jobs, like protecting our country's borders, but we are still inspired by what they do. The Gilded