Free Will vs Determinism
Free Will vs Determinism is debate on whether or not the external forces drive our present state? A debate on: up to what limit is our behaviour controlled by forces which are not in our control. Both of these are not phenomenon but two different ways a person can think. Free Will allows us to make our own choices and thus making us responsible for whatever happens in future whereas a deterministic mind-set or approach suggests that everything happening to you or around you was bound to happen and no matter what, you could have not controlled it. This is normally referred to as destiny by most of us.
This philosophy was picked up by early Romans and is still instilled deep inside every human being. Free Will allows to mould our lives the way we want but determinism makes us blame everything on things and forces which cannot be controlled. Let us understand this by a very simple example. If you think that you are reading this blog because you are interested in the topic, it is free will. But determinism indicates that you, reading about “Free Will vs Determinism” was going to happen whether you choose it or not. Interesting, isn’t it?
Free will helps you to boost your self-confidence because you know that whatever happens, it is because of your decisions and choices; you have led yourself into that. You try to give your 100% in whatever you do so that you don’t end up in a pit hole. This helps you to evolve with a greater and better sense of judgement. You are able to differentiate between right and wrong easily and accurately. Because of this, you feel emotions a level up. You become independent of natural and social constraints.
But we need to understand that a thin line between reality and awareness cannot be registered as free will. The events that take place due to common sense need to happen regardless of any of the two. It is better to follow determinism instead of being in confusion.
Determinism proclaims that humans are deficient in decision making and act according to causes that have previously existed.
There are two types of determinism: Internal and External.
- Internal Determinism
When you believe on your own abilities to change your life, it is known as Internal Determinism. It mainly refers to the qualities you have inherited (not built over time), such as risk-taking factor, intelligence, etc. It becomes a source of self-motivation. - External Determinism
When you depend on external sources such as parental or peer pressure, social media, etc. to mould your life. These things influence you on a much higher level than you think. It is a major part in building your life style.
Sometimes, a person is not to blame if he or she believes in determinism. We have not been in their shoes, so we can never feel what they have gone through. Maybe because that person has taken every decision in his/her life according to what he/she seemed preferable but ended up in a bad situation, he or she will definitely start believing in determinism. Their life track decides what they want to believe in the end.
According to me, this is not an issue where we can divide the complete human race into two categories but it is a conflict of faith. We need to decide where our faith lies. One leads to defeatism while the other leads to aspiration. Also this cannot be decided in one instance, whether we preach free will or determinism because this belief can only be built over time, not by just one incident. This philosophy is beyond answering on a generalised level but it’s an easier question on a personal level.
