Ethics Lecture Five

Ethics – Lecture Five 14/11/05

(quote 1)

know the following terms:

freedom
determinism
universal causation
fatalism
predestination
indeterminism

understand the difference between:

hard and soft determinism
fatalism
indeterminism

We have seen the importance of absolutism and relativism to ethics – now there is another area that is just as important – and that is this questions: Are human beings free to choose?

Explain: Determinism and Freedom

Can we make choices or are powerful forces outside of our control determining our choices so that we only seem to be making free choices.

The question as to whether human beings are free to choose is not really an ethical question – it is a question for metaphysics – but has profound implications for ethics.

determinism – means that everything has a cause – there is nothing that is uncaused – and if that it the case then it must be the same with humans.

non causi sui – nothing is self caused.

Latest neurological science has shown that we have a thought before we are aware of it.

If this is true how we can we hold people responsible for anything they do wrong?

Types and Theories of Determinism

The argument for determinism goes back to the ancient Greeks and before – and with the latest scientific research of the 20th century have become even more compelling.

(quote 2)

Two kinds of ‘determinism’:

Religious Determinism (Predestination)

Scientific Determinism

Religious Determinism

Religious Determinism is based on the idea of God or Allah being:

(quote 3)

‘God’ or ‘Allah’ is:

Omniscience (being all-knowing)

Omnipotent (being all-powerful)

If God or Allah says that I will live a good life and go to heaven – that will happen – if God or Allah says that I will live a bad life and go to hell – that will happen.

Everything is determined by God or Allah.

This theory is not generally held by the three major religions – though some philosophers in each of the religions has held the view – the most famous being John Calvin (1509-1564).

Problems: how do we prove a supernatural being? – and if He or She does exist – how do we know that they are all powerful?

(1) If God created everything in the world and knows about everything – then He or She must have created evil – this creates real problems for some theologians.

(2) If God determines everything this creates problems for the Christian notions of salvation.

This theory of determinism is held by all three of the major theistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam – but usually in a weak form – God has is all knowing and all powerful but has granted humans “free-will”.

Scientific Determinism

(quote 4)

Scientific Determinism

Physical Determinism

Biological and Genetic Determinism

Historical or Cultural Determinism

Economic Determinism or Social Determinism

Psychological Determinism (Freudianism and Behaviourism)


Because at the very heart of science is it’s ability to predict – it must accept universal causation – nothing is without a cause – this means – for the scientist there can be no freedom in the universe at all!

The strongest arguments for determinism have come in the 20th century –from the natural and physical sciences – particularly as they have affected modern psychology.

Physical Determinism

Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) – believed strongly in physical determinism – according to Newton everything in nature – everything physical in nature – are governed by natural law – (i.e. law of gravity) – and therefore there in no such thing as freedom – human beings are physical in nature – and so all their actions are caused by something outside of them – freedom is simply an illusion.

Critics of Newton say that human beings are not merely physical – but also mental and spiritual beings.

Werner Heisenberg’s quantum theory.

Biological and Genetic Determinism

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) The survival of the fittest.

Darwin says that the process of natural selection has nothing to do with freedom.

A more recent and sophisticated version of the theory is genetic makeup.

None of us has any say over who our parents are – we get our genes from our parents – these genes determine our skin colour, how smart we are, our sex, our eye colour – and now scientists say – also the kinds of diseases we will get later in life – so how can we say that we are free?

The problem with biological and genetic determinism is the same as scientific determinism in that it reduces human beings just to their physical and biological makeup – and does not allow for the fact the humans might also have a mental or spiritual side.

Historical or Cultural Determinism

Georg W. F. Hegel (1770-1831) developed a deterministic theory that was based on history.

Hegel thought that each stage of history were manifestations of an “absolute mind” or “absolute Geist” which is trying to realize itself in a state of perfection.

The basic nature of reality – of the world – is mental – and the physical is just a stage in absolute mind’s growth to realize itself.

All the actions of people are determined by their cultures – all previous cultures – and history events.

Problems: how do we prove that such a absolute mind exists? People are affected by their culture and by history – but are they absolutely determined by these things?

Economic or Social Determinism

Karl Marx (1818-1883) - Marxism follows on from Hegel – but instead our actions and characteristics are determined by economic forces not historical forces.

Marx’s theory was called dialectical materialism. thesis-antitheis-synthesis

slave-feudal-capitalist (proletariat and bourgeoisie) -socialist – classless society.

Marx believed that people cannot control which class (proletariat or bourgeoisie) they are born in – and the class that you are born in determines all your actions – everything that you say and do.

Psychological Determinism

Some of the strongest theories for determinism in the 20th century have come from the science of psychology

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) - the founder of psychoanalysis – in Freud’s theory all our actions are determined by the unconscious – that part of our mind’s where we keep suppress wants and desires – which expressed in our actions in other ways.

Freud would say that all human beings are determined by inner drives and unconscious motivations to act the way they do.

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) – Skinner based his work on that of Ivan P. Pavlov (1849-1936).

Explain: Pavlov’s dog.

Skinner thought that all our actions were conditioned in the very same way – and that any talk of God, soul, psyche, self, and even mind – were just old outdated concepts based on a lack of scientific knowledge.

He said that freedom is an illusion – a dream.


Let’s look at what determinism means for ethics and ethical theory.


(quote 5)

Fatalism

‘Hard’ Determinism

‘Soft’ Determinism

Indeterminism


Fatalism

Fatalism is the idea that everything is absolutely determined and cannot be changed in any way by human beings.

In wartime – people say if I am going to die – I am going to die – and there is not much that I can do about it.

Hard Determinism

Hard Determinism say that if everything is caused then there can be no such thing as freedom or free will – but they are saying something different than Fatalists – they do believe that human beings CAN change events – but that the way in which humans do change things is CAUSED by things that are not in human control.

Other causes determine how I will change things.

The Hard Determinist is saying that everything has a cause – including thoughts, feelings, choices, decisions, actions.

The Hard Determinist says that if you go back far enough you will find the cause of every action - even the ones that you thought that you chose freely – genes, environment, parents, etc.




(quote 6)

“We can act in accordance with our choices or decisions,” he will say, “and we can choose in accordance with our desires. But we are not free to desire. We can choose as we please, but we can’t please as we please. If my biological or psychological nature is such that at a certain moment I desire A, I shall choose A, and if it such that I desire B, I shall choose B. I am free to choose either A or B, but I am not free to desire either A or B. Moreover, my desires are not themselves the outcomes of choices, for I cannot choose to have them or not to have them.” – John Hospers, Human Conduct, An Introduction to the Problems of Ethics.


Soft Determinism

Soft Determinism say that everything is caused – but that human beings can be one of the causes in the world – human beings can be causes in the world by using their minds and wills – but it is still a limited freedom – because we cannot choose certain things – live without air – or make people disappear by clicking my fingers.

Hard Determinism say that humans are causes to – but that those causes are caused by something else – Soft Determinists say that humans can originate causes.

Indeterminist

Think that there is chance in the world.

William James (1842-1910) - most famous holder of this view.

The evidence seems to overwhelming point in the direction of causation – or determinism – Can we even imagine what an uncaused event would look like?