Understanding Will and Freedom: Determinism vs. Indeterminism
Will and Understanding
The will is the faculty by which humans can act beyond mere sensory input. It allows us to control instinctive tendencies without external stimuli. It is a uniquely human faculty, distinct from understanding or intelligence. Ethics identifies two objectives: 1. The collective good along with individual happiness. 2. The imperative to act correctly regardless of the ends.
Understanding involves conceiving an order sought by the subject and deliberating whether or not to act, appreciating the reasons for doing something or not. The end will be decided through a deliberative process and the possibilities distinguished by the intellect. The importance of understanding and will lies in providing moral action with the following characteristics: intentionality, voluntariness, sound background, purpose, motivation, creativity, ingenuity, and attribution to a unique personality.
Freedom: The Problem
Will
An act is free when not dictated by something or someone external. It is the capacity for self-determination according to a chosen plan without external constraints. Erich Fromm argues that humans emerge from a dependency on the natural and social environment towards increasing individualization, which is freedom through continuous self-growth.
Types of Freedom
- Extrinsic or External Freedom: Absence of irresistible pressure or coercion from outside forces. In physical terms, a body falls freely when unobstructed. In political and social terms, it includes freedom of movement, thought, civil liberties, and religious freedoms.
- Intrinsic or Internal Freedom: Also called freedom of choice, free will, or self-determination. It is true personal freedom, the possibility of self-fulfillment through actions.
- Freedom of Exercise: Power to act or not act.
- Freedom of Specification: Acting in one direction or another.
- Moral Freedom: Choosing between good or bad, right or wrong, implying full responsibility for actions and consequences.
Determinism vs. Indeterminism
Determinists deny freedom, although they may admit its appearance for practical convenience. Indeterminists claim freedom as a basic human reality, acknowledging limitations from personal and social conditions.
Determinism
Grounding in Natural Sciences
- Physical or Mechanistic Determinism: Humans are complex but determined by physical laws.
- Biological or Physiological Determinism: Human behavior is determined by biological factors.
Grounding in Social Sciences
- Educational Determinism: Behavior is a response to social stimuli (Skinner).
- Sociological Determinism: Human action is constrained by social factors.
Rationale Purely Philosophical
- Rational Determinism: Humans are primarily rational, and reason dictates actions.
- Theological Determinism: Freedom belongs to a transcendent being, not humans.
Indeterminism
This position supports the presence of conditioning, acknowledging limitations but affirming basic freedom.
- Biblical Revelation: God made humans free in His image.
- Thomism: Humans are free because they are rational, with intelligence and will.
- Ethics: Kant argues that moral autonomy requires freedom.
- New Physical Science: Quantum mechanics suggests non-deterministic natural laws.
- Psychological Consciousness of Being: Existentialism emphasizes existence over essence, implying freedom (Sartre, Mounier).
- Fromm and Marcuse: Humans can achieve increasing degrees of freedom, both internal and external.