Free-Will Vs Determinism

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Determinism is the philosophical idea that “every event or state of affairs, including every human decision and action, is the inevitable and necessary consequence of antecedent states of affairs” (“Determinism”, Information Philosopher). Under the umbrella of determinism there are two different schools of thought known as compatibilism and incompatibilism. The basic ideology for compatibilism is that free will and determinism can coexist; while the basic ideology for incompatibilism states that free will and determinism cannot coexist. After thoroughly examining both points of view, it becomes clear that compatibilism is the far superior version of determinism because it provides a more optimistic and realistic view on whether or not human…show more content…
The first compatibilist argument states that people often misunderstand the true meaning of both free will and determinism. The compatibilist version of freedom follows the basic idea that people are free to do anything as long as they have the power or ability to do so, and are not constrained or hindered by any external force (“Free Will” 13). Compatibilists do not make the distinction that a determined action is not free because as long as this determined action is not hindered by any outside force, to them, it is free. Some examples of impediments that would stop people from being able to act freely are “physical restraint…coercion…lack of ability…lack of opportunity…[and] compulsion” (“Free Will” 13). The most basic argument for compatibilism is that human beings are still free even if what they desire to do is determined. It seems as though compatibilism is working off of a system of ignorance in the sense that if an action feels free, then compatibilists say that it is free. Compatibilists also try to clarify what their definition of determinism means. Compatibilists believe that determinism is not a form of manipulation, and that just because an action…show more content…
Compatibilism answers more the question of our everyday freedoms which are referred to as “surface freedoms”; however, incompatibilism follows more with the doctrines of libertarian free will, which is often considered to be the “ordinary” sense of free will. The surface freedoms of compatibilism refer to the everyday decisions that we must make. These decisions could include whether or not to go to class, or whether or not to write this paper. Compatibilism makes people feel as though they do have freedom and can express free will over these decisions even if compatibilism may not as sufficiently answer the freedom of will questions. However, incompatibilism seems to follow more with libertarian doctrines of free will since libertarians also believe in incompatibilism. The libertarian version of free will: that incompatibilism exists, that free will exists, and that people’s actions are not in any way determined by outside forces, tends to people what most people consider as the “ordinary” definition of free will (“Free Will” 32-33). This definition of free will suggests that human beings are basically autonomous in their decision making with nothing impacting their decision making besides their own thoughts and desires. Although incompatibilism is still a form of determinism, it shares more commonalities with the libertarian version of free will than
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