Freedom, Determinism, and Human Responsibility in Philosophy

Freedom and Determinism

External and Internal Freedom

External freedom allows us to move from one place and act as we see fit, to the extent permitted by the law and customs of our country.

Internal freedom, or the freedom to decide on issues affecting us (such as the freedom to love one thing or another), is also called free will.

Conditioning and Determination

Being conditioned is different from being determined. To be conditioned means you do not have absolute and total freedom, but enough freedom is conserved to enable you to be responsible for your own actions. To be absolutely determined is to deny the opportunity to act freely.

Cosmological Determinism and Fate

The Stoics, in the 4th century BC, considered it essential to find out the order of the cosmos to know how we should behave within it. For this, they resorted to the doctrine of Heraclitus. According to Heraclitus, everything is explained by a first reason, a common reason, which is the law governing the universe.

The Stoics adopted this cosmology and understood that this reason is the law of the universe and destiny. They posited two worlds: inner freedom, which is the realm of internal goods and the neglect of external matters (what is in our hands versus the outside world that does not depend on us). Wisdom is security.

Theological Determinism and Predestination

The problem of combining the causal order of the world with human freedom emerges again, although in a theological version, with the Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation. The Protestant reformers insisted that there is no human free will and that individuals are predestined. Catholic theologians tried to counteract this determinism.

Scientific Determinism

Scientific determinism attempts to explain human behavior based on explanations provided by a specific science. This mindset often leads to reductionism. Examples include:

• Economic Determinism
• Genetic Determinism
• Psychological Determinism

Critiques of Determinism

Reductionist positions are unable to justify the following facts, which we can only understand if we assume we are free:

• The conviction that we act freely.
• The fact that we are held responsible for our actions.
• Personal praise and disapproval of certain behaviors.
• Aesthetic and scientific creativity.
• The existence of moral, legal, political, and religious systems.

The Nature of Human Freedom

Our freedom is conditioned by many factors and has a biological basis. The human being truly captures the environment and, through intelligence, responds by creating a world of possibilities from which we choose and justify our actions.