The concepts of Determinism, Compatibilism and Libertarianism are key to our understanding of human free will, or the lack of
it. They also raise questions as to whether we can truly be held responsible
for our actions. Because if, as determinists argue, all our actions are pre-determined
and brought about by past events, how can anyone ever be held responsible for
any action they take?
Taking this approach of thinking on human freedom can
be problematic however, as it defeats any desire to ever do anything and all
becomes meaningless! It is also arguably
difficult to believe that every action a person makes has already been decided,
because whilst we make these choices, we feel a sense of freedom.
As mentioned, another theory on human free will is that of Libertarianism. This is the opposite of determinism and instead argues that we
are free autonomous agents who are able to make free moral choices. However,
libertarians do not argue for absolute freedom, as our bodies and minds are formed
by genetics and develop in certain environments. Because of this, they would
argue we each have a pre disposition to certain behaviors and therefore; there
are set limits on the choices we make.
It can be argued that this, along with
the similar ideas of soft determinists, is a far more realistic approach to the
concept of free will as it both views humans as free in their choice and
therefore responsible, whilst also paying attention to how cultural, genetic
and other external factors can affect how a person acts and how free they are
in making certain choices.
