freeclo Comapring Free Will in A Clockwork Orange and Freedom and the

Free Will in A Clockwork Orange and Skinners immunity 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 impart 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 international 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 essential first understand the concept of determinism. Determinism is the idea that all events are caused, occurring only as effects of causes before them. For example, the event of my bringing an umbrella to work was caused, or determined, by a rainstorm or perhaps by the days weather forecast predicting rain. Whate ver the reason, determinism follows that a later event is inevitable due to its earlier cause. If true, determinism holds that the future day is fixed and unchangeable, in much the same way the past is unchangeable in time travel. If true, determinism leaves only one possible effect for each posterior event. Influencing the ideas of determinism is the religious conception of predestination. Here the idea is that God has determined beforehand who will go to heaven and hell and nothing can be make to change the fixed and determined outcome. Predestination has been criticized by some because it seems to lead to fatalism. If our destinies are already decided, we seem to lack the free will to control our future. plainly believers in predestination believe tha... ...ve it or we dont, whether its determined or not, the notion of free will can help us better understand why we behave as we do. Perhaps someday, with our understanding of free will, well be able to do what Socrates recomme nded long ago. Works Cited Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York, NY W W Norton & Company. 1986. Kane, Robert. Selections from The importee of Free Will. http//www.iusb.edu/lzynda/scifi/kane.html. Lycan, William. Consciousness. http//www.iusb.edu/lzynda/scifi/lycan.html. Hanley, Richard. The Metaphysics of Star Trek. Chapter 3 Pro Creation Abridged http//www.iusb.edu/lzynda/scifi/hanley.html. Persons Handout. X100/220. Philosophy, Science, and Science Fiction. The Concept of a Person. Skinner, B.F. Freedom and the Control of Man. http//www.iusb.edu/lzynda/scifi/skinner.html.