Free Will: Does it exist or is it merely created by our subconscious?

 

The existence of free will has always been an ago old question in Philosophy but it wasn’t until a few decades ago that it started to question the minds of many famous psychologists such as Skinner and Freud. However, in the world of psychology there is an alternative view to free will: Determinism.

 

Determinism is a more radical view and perspective in an attempt to counter-balance the view and existence of free will. Before we move on with this discussion, we need to be aware of the definitions to both sides of the argument. On one hand determinism is the view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped and/or controlled by either internal or external forces, and on the other, free will is the view that our behaviour is determined by our own will rather than by other forces.

Both determinism and free will seem like plausible explanations except, both of these are very radical and are located on either edge of the seesaw – they’re too different to simply work together. As a result, very little can be concluded from these two views and a closer relationship between the two has to be identified.

 

William James proposed the theory of ‘Soft Determinism’. He believed that mental activities are subject to free will and physical states are determined. In simple terms, James believed that determinism does in fact exist but it doesn’t rule out freedom and responsibility. In many cases this can also be best described as the dualist approach as both free will and determinism are possible.

 

However, furthermore along the seesaw, Heather proposed the view of ‘Liberal Determinism’. This view believes that our behaviour is determined, just as James said, but to the extent that people act consistently with their character. Her view would suggest a closer relationship between free will and determinism – we are determined in what options we have but we still have a choice. We can pick which path we take.

 

What does all this mean in Psychology then, well for starters Skinner claimed that free will was an illusion. He believed that our behaviour is determined by reinforcement – rewarding good behaviour and punishment for bad behaviour. In support of that view, Freud also thought that free will was an illusion. Most of the causes of our behaviour are hidden from us and unconscious. We assume we are acting freely but our behaviour is determined by unconscious forces and is predictable. Be that as it may, Valentine claimed that the subjective sense of free will is a tenable proposition and attitudes towards free will have been found to increase with age and are more common in individualistic cultures (mostly in the West) where personal responsibility receives greater emphasis, cultures such as Germany for instance.

 

To further support the question of free will, a psychologist named Ridley conducted a study in 2003 on non-human animals. He removed their limbic system and his results were astonishing. It was found that the removal stopped the animals from being able to initiate activity. This would further go to support the theory that the limbic system is associated with deficits such as schizophrenia or other mental illnesses such as Huntington’s disease where patients lack voluntary control or ability to initiate activity.

 

Although it has been clearly identified that free will does exist in one form or another, both physically and spiritually, it is still a falsifiable proposition. If free will is the product of conscious thinking and as a result can be explained in terms of brain activity, then free will can be explained through a deterministic framework. As a result, free will, or the belief and assumption of it, is determined or pre-determined which would suggest that there is no complete free will and nor that there is complete determinism. Moreover, there has to be a clear association between free will and determinism, and soft determinism or liberal determinism. An association which would consider the views of both arguments and accepts the views that both are needed in human behaviour.

 

Decided or undecided? Controlled or out of control? Which path will you take?