Free Will and Determinism: Understanding the Relationship

Running head: FREE WILL AND DETERMINISM
FREE WILL AND DETERMINISM
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1FREE WILL AND DETERMINISM
The free will of the human beings refer to the philosophical theory that relates to the
ability of the concerned human beings to decide among the various possible courses of action
that might follow a certain activity. The determinism however refers to the philosophical theory
that states that the various actions of the concerned human beings are generally dependent on the
pre-existent causes of any given course of action. The concept of compatibilism states that the
concerned human beings might demonstrate the properties of having a free will while existing in
deterministic surroundings. The following essay deals with the various concepts that pertain to
free will and attempts to provide the concerned audience with the relationship that exists among
the concepts of free will and determinism. The essay nears its end with an attempt to discuss the
existence of the free will in the exercises that are performed by the concerned human beings.
What is free will?
The free will of the human beings refer to the philosophical theory that relates to the
ability of the concerned human beings to decide among the various possible courses of action
that might follow a certain activity. The free will is often known to be closely linked with the
various other concepts of guilt, praise, responsibility, sin as well as other such judgements that
might be put across as a result of the actions that have been freely chosen by the concerned
person. The free will might also be considered to have been connected with the concepts that
deal with the matters pertaining to the advices, deliberations, persuasions and prohibitions
(Bergson, 2014). It is a tradition to consider that the actions that deserve blame or credit are the
ones that have been dependent on the free will of the concerned person. The free will of the
concerned person further takes into consideration the moral responsibilities of the concerned
person. The various proponents of the concept of free will state that the moral responsibilities of
the given person might be responsible for the decision on the basis of which the concerned

2FREE WILL AND DETERMINISM
person might be termed to be either praiseworthy or blame worthy for the actions that they might
have been undertaking. The free will of a person might further be termed as an ability of the
person to make the choices the outcomes of which are not dependent on the various events that
might have taken place in the past times. The various activities that might be considered to be
resulting from the free will of the concerned human beings are the activities like jumping into a
water bodies, participating in races with other people and other such activities. The free will of a
certain person might also be dependent on the importance the person holds in the minds of the
concerned beholder. This might also be dependent on the various matters that are related to the
reactive attitudes that are expected by the people who have been surrounding the concerned
person in discussion.
Is free will compatible with determinism?
The determinism of the concerned human beings refers to the conditions that states that
the various actions of the concerned human beings are generally dependent on the pre-existent
causes of any given course of action. The various propounders of the free will state that the
concept of determinism precludes the concept of the free will in the matters that deal with the
concepts that state that the human beings might not be acting in the ways that are different than
those that have been selected for them. The theory of determinism holds that the universe is
rational in its activities (Widerker, 2017). The rationality of the universe is further acknowledged
by the fact that the complete knowledge on any given situation within the universe ensures the
concerned person might possess the knowledge of the universe as a whole and the future of the
universe as well. The determinism theorists further state that the various definitions of the theory
have sprung from the various measures and considerations that might have been overlapping in
nature.