Free Will, Thesis Paper Example

Introduction

In examining the question of whether or not a heroin addict is responsible for the harm she cause to herself and to others, a larger question presents itself; namely, as this harm is undesirable, whether or not the addict is acting out of free will.  Moreover, the nature of addiction itself presents the issue of free will in a very extreme way, and certainly allows for explanations of determinism.  Human will, however, is not so easily defined, and it will be seen that, even in so drastic a case, compatibilism provides the answer.  Free will exists both as a choice made and as a force partially influenced by determined circumstances, but it exists nonetheless and personal responsibility is attached in such a case.

Discussion

As noted, the intense power of physical and mental addiction opens the door for removing responsibility from the heroin addict.  Once an addiction takes hold, it could be said that a direct form of determinism is in place.  The girl is acting under the influence of a drug, and one that creates cravings for more of the same.  Consequently, it could be argued that her course is as determined as strongly as if she had a different type of disease.  We do not hold people accountable when circumstances beyond their control render free will virtually impossible.  This is true of disease, as it is true of the person who is imprisoned in a literal cell. Simply, they are unable to exercise free will because forces beyond them are dictating the extent of the choices they may make.

The circumstances defining determinism, however, are as varied as human possibilities themselves, and are often subjective.  It is true that actual physical limitations completely prevent the exercise of free will in certain situations, but many others are not so absolutely clear as such.  Addiction is one of these.  Drug addiction definitely, and greatly, impairs free will, but that is not the same thing as eliminating it, just as addiction occurs at different levels.  To draw a parallel, a person in society who is desperately poor is also lacking a large measure of free will.  It may be that the need to feed their family is so pressing, they feel they have “no choice” but to steal.  Turning to another example, the religious zealot may believe that the destruction they cause is not terrorism prompted by free will, but an imperative created by the determinist circumstances of following the course of the reality they perceive.  These cases, then, illustrate that determinism comes in various degrees of power; this varying factor alone, then, points to its not being an irrefutably deciding force.

The inherent subjectivity of determinism, then, along with the many ways in which its actual presence moderates in strength, indicates the converse power of free will.  Determinism, simply, may make choices extremely difficult, but the choice nonetheless remains, and then rests more on the investment of free will the individual chooses to make.  For a full understanding of why compatibilism offers the only valid answer to the initial question, it must be clear that free will itself is not limited to choices that either benefit the individual, or ease or solve the situation.  The starving man, for example, may choose to do what he believed impossible and, rather than steal, seek outside help to feed his family.  Conversely, the heroin addict may exercise her free will in deciding to take her own life, which she believes will end the pain she is causing others .  The choice is unfortunate and easily argued, but it remains a choice made by free will to address the situation and take responsibility for it.  It is then seen that even the most extreme presences of determinist influence still cannot remove the power of free will.

Conclusion

It is natural for people to ;point to extreme circumstances as denying free will, when in fact they may only influence it.  These influences, as in heroin addiction, may be enormously powerful, but they are still nothing more than influence.  On some level, and no matter the extremity of the situation, human beings always have the power to choose.  That exercise of free will may create greater damage than what it seeks to address, but that is beside the point.  What matters is that free will remains.  It exists as a force partially influenced by determined circumstances, but it still exists as a power to choose, and personal responsibility also always remains in place.