FREE OR DETERMINED

                   

Whatever your understanding of the mind and the self, your probably see free will as an essential component to both.  However, it remains a source of debate whether or not we are truly free to make choices between alternative courses of action.  This hinges on the debate between (determinists) Those who argue that all our actions are caused by forces beyond our control - and (libertarians) Those who argue that at least some of our actions are a result of our free will.

This debate is informed by the investigation of the Nature of the self.  In other words, our view on the nature of the individual as a direct bearing on our position on free will.  If you agree with Freud, for example, that the self s unalterably created by natural and environmental forces that you cannot change, you will have  little hope that human beings can exercise their freedom. on the other hand, if you concede, with Maslow, that nature creates while nurture conditions a potential, evolving self, you will maintain that human beings are capable of freely developing their natural potential in an unlimited number of ways.

Friday, July 24, 2009