freeclo Comapring Free Will in A Clockwork Orange and...

Free Will in A Clockwork Orange and Skinners Freedom and the Control of Man Socrates once said, Know thyself, and over two thousand years later were still perplexed with the complexities of human behavior. The concept of free will has been debated and challenged by science, religion, and philosophy throughout history. By free will, I mean our ability to choose and behave as we wish, without our choices being determined by outside sources. Such a notion has been discussed and disputed by philosophers like B.F. Skinner, Robert Kane, William Lycan, and Richard Hanley in very different ways. In order to better understand the arguments of Skinner and Kane, we must first understand the concept of determinism.†¦show more content†¦Those of us bound for Heaven wouldnt be heading there if we didnt live life according to Gods law. Therefore, none of our actions can surprise God, because He knows beforehand whether or not we will get to Heaven. In this way, our destiny is both determined and caused by our actions, similar to backward causation in time travel when the cause can occur after the effect. This does not lead to fatalism, though, because our actions, sinful or not, are anything but useless. They will determine where well spend our eternal life. While predestination doesnt necessarily lead to fatalism, it has led some to question the concept of free will. If, for example, God knows beforehand that Ill bring an umbrella to work, how can I not bring the umbrella? And if I cant, then how am I free? So determinism, if true, seems to mean we cannot have free will. Indeterminism, however, argues that not all events are caused by an earlier event. In fact, a strong reading of indeterminism would say that if there has been even one exception to determinism, then determinism must be false. Consider the following scenario: Its raining outside, I have an umbrella, but I decide against bringing it to work. In this example, the circumstances are the same as before when I brought the umbrella. Only this time the outcome was different. If my decision to leave the umbrella was uncaused, then determinism is false. While indeterminism makes the opposite argument about the causes of our