Free Will and Determinism

Paper Summary:

This paper begins with a discussion and explanation of theories about free will and determinism, explaining that most people believe in both determinism and free will, even though there is a basic contradiction between the two theories. The paper then takes a look at how we can apply the theory of determinism to the study of criminal law and the judicial system if we, at the same time, believe in free will.

From the Paper:

"Most individuals are inclined to believe that every event or occurrence has a cause, rather than think that things happen haphazardly. The belief that there is a cause to every event is known as determinism. To think otherwise would be considered nonsense. It would be ridiculous if someone thought, for example, that her clock stopped working for no reason whatsoever. Even if no one could determine the precise cause or causes, we still would not accept the idea that the clock's stopping had no cause. Whether the subject is clocks, lights coming on, the workings of a computer, or the common cold, each has a cause. The same could be said for the actions of humans, every action that is said or done have causes. An action is an event. The actions may be caused by hereditary, previous experiences, some peculiarity in personality, the circumstances under which the act occurred, etc. Most would agree that actions have causes; otherwise they would happen by chance and that is thought is frightening."

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