Progress through our ability to thinkToday, in an age of mass communication, social media and portable technological devices, are we the sole creators of our thoughts and actions, or are we produced by society and others? According to John Hospers, there are always factors that push us to act in a certain way, whether internal or external, even if we still believe that this is the result of our own will. William James, however, a strong anti-determinist, suggests that human beings are not determined by previous causes that eliminate their possible actions, but rather that in some situations they can make free choices. In this article I will compare the relevance of Hospers and James' arguments to the notion between determinism and free will and to the ability of humans to think independently. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The topic of free will is very complex and diverse. There are many aspects to the question, but it all boils down to just three main movements. The first aspect of the argument concerns Hospers and his idea that actions and choices arise primarily from the early parental environment and have little connection to what an individual chooses to do. The opposite side of the argument comes from James, where he argues that knowledge and free will are an action of human beings and have the ability to control consequences and their choices. The third and most effective argument, or the so-called middle ground, is that we are determined and yet free will is still possible. According to Craig Ross's Compatibilism, by saying that we are both free but also determined, we leave a lot of room for improvement. He argues that we must choose between these two opposing views. According to his observation, there is freedom or determinism. Analyzing Hospers and his observations on hundreds of psychiatric case documentations, he states that the subconscious environment that comes from past and predetermined experiences forces actions and shapes character forever. One of his most influential works, not his topic, is What Means This Freedom, in which Hospers clearly offers examples that demonstrate his points about determinism. One example he uses states that, “. . . The mother blames her daughter for choosing the wrong men as husband candidates; but although the daughter thinks she chooses freely and spends a lot of time "deciding" between them, the identification with her sick father, arising from the Oedipal fantasies of early childhood, prevents her from caring for anyone except sick men, twenty or thirty years older than her. Blaming her makes no sense; he cannot do without it and he cannot change it” (Hospers). This example demonstrates that choices are in every way determined by past experiences and the environment in which a person grew up. For example, if the sick father factor did not come into play, then the decision for his daughter could have been different and his subsequent actions could have taken a completely different approach. Hospers further argues that “countless criminal acts are thought out in great detail; However, participants (unknowingly) act out fantasies, fears and defenses from early childhood, they have no conscious control over who comes and goes” (Hospers). So the discussion about society and its role comes to play an important role in this discussion, but the main point that determinists are trying to prove is that every action, voluntarily or otherwise, is predetermined and based on our past. It is the so-called “behind the scenes” action. When the notionof determinism came to the forefront of ideologies of existence, there was a reaction called libertarianism. The most understoodThe definition of libertarianism would be the use of freedom as a fundamental principle of life. What would follow as the second branch of this broad ideology would be Indeterminism, and as the title states, it is an ideology against the notion of determinism. One of the greatest proponents of indeterminism was William James, a 20th century American philosopher. His simplified ideology states that human beings' will to choose is an active part of their life, not a life full of randomness. “I think yesterday was a crisis in my life. I have finished the first part of Renouvier's Second Essais and see no reason why his definition of free will - "the holding of a thought because I choose to do so when I might have other thoughts" - should be the definition of an illusion. In any case, I assume for the moment – ​​until next year – that this is not an illusion. My first act of free will will be to believe in free will.” (Perry, p. 323). It's more the idea that humans can choose. It wants to convey the idea that the things around us or for example our lives and actions are not preset and mechanical as identified by Hospers and David Hume. All parties according to James have a safe and loose game with each other, so one another does not determine what the others will be. “Indeterminism therefore denies that the world is a de facto uninterrupted and inflexible unity” (Lesson). When it comes to explaining this theory, the answers boil down to a very specific number of selective answers. An example used by James to illustrate his point, describes a man walking home from work: before the fact neither the determinist nor the indeterminist can predict the route he will take to get home. After the fact, although the determinist will assert the necessity of the chosen path, the indeterminist will assert that the path was freely chosen. James says there is no upside on either side of the issue so far. The reason is that, he argues about the nature of action, there is a certain freedom that an individual has and that neither party can predict its progress. He chose the side of indeterminism because he believed that determinism, while logically tenable, is pragmatically unacceptable. The general message that James wants to convey is that of freedom and the ability to think and make choices is the result of one's free will. What would an indeterminist think about determinism today? An indeterminist will argue that with determinism we cannot decide freely or even solemnly, or think without other restrictions. Everything He will say is preordained to happen and everything is dictated to us. His point of view states that we are free, and although external pressure and change can influence us, we are the only indicators of choice. Although the question now is: what could a determinist say? The first statement he will make is that every choice we make is an illusion of choice and that we do not have free will. The first support he would use would be the reasoning of biology. Because we are made by our genes, biology and our environment, everything is far beyond our control. When someone tries to change certain situations, their decisions will be based on their already innate characteristics. If our choices and decisions are based on reason, then since reason is the product of our character, and our character is part of our environment, then it is predetermined. An example of this will be when someone gets to the point of “picking up” the pieces that will ultimately make up their identity. Take religion for example: factors such as family and societywill be crucial. The counterargument would have been that the decision to follow or reject the norms was free and undetermined since the decision to choose a religion could have been rejected or followed. The explanation is that yes, the religious choice could have not been respected, but this is not the case. Demonstrating this, every decision has its course and we cannot base facts on alternatives, because alternatives are illusions. This specific deterministic conclusion seeks to show that since we cannot say what would have happened otherwise from an action, then we cannot distinguish between hard determinism and soft determinism and the capacity for free choice. By looking at both sides of the argument we can see the contradiction they have over each other. If the argument is based on the influence of environment and upbringing, and that every decision is caused by certain facts, the counterargument states that this persuasion was determined by us in which direction we would be persuaded. He is what many will call “a self-causing agent” who is free to choose and determine his own decisions and how he would be persuaded of them. But now the question is: what is freedom? or choice? The definitions are clear for indeterminists and unclear for determinists. For example, how can someone establish that they are free, but cannot explain in detail what freedom is? And why would anyone keep looking for extra explanations, when freedom is the ability to freely make your own choices. Now, since we have looked at the different configurations of both indeterminism and determinism, it would be wise and quite practical to use a real-life explanation from a current life event. Let's take our education in this world as an example. From an early age we are influenced by independent external factors. These include our norms, the language we are presented with, the media and technology. These factors, in combination with the biological agents we receive, such as our DNA, genes, environment and biology, make up who we are and what characteristics we must acquire and use. For example, we are biologically determined about how we will appear without our own decision or thought. We receive the traits and sometimes talents, brain configurations of our parents, and later, the basis of our character and our outlook on life are also derived from them. Sometimes we also get diseases and harmful traits that also affect our existence. By analyzing this information which is completely indisputable and supported by all sciences and our environment, we see that there is a predetermined factor that influences our lives. The question is: to what extent and in what way do these predetermined factors influence our lives, influence our free will in making decisions, and how do they shape our human consciousness. The other side of things has to do with all the external factors that we are used to knowing from day one in this world. From an early age, we are influenced first and foremost by our family environment, which is also our first introduction to norms, culture and behavior. That includes our language, our notions about race, politics, education, and even gender roles. For example, when a child grows up in a family and in an environment where social media and culture advocate that women, for example, are second nature and that men are the rightful owners of the world, then the ability of this child to function in later life would rely on the feedback he received from his childhood and his actions will focus primarily on what he has learned. We actually don't have the ability to choose our family like that.