Genetic Determinism
The conflict between free will and determinism has always had a profound affect on the human condition in our society. Many philosophers have argued over this topic for years, coming up with different conclusions. Some firmly believe that we have been shaped by our genetics and our environment while some support free will and believe that we are not determined at all. Some people believe in a notion, which falls somewhere in between free will and determinism. So this leads us to our main question - are we genetically determined? Some may agree - some may not, depending on various reasons such as ethics, logic, culture, religion, values etc. But before we answer that, we should ask ourselves if we're determined at all? In order to answer that, we should first try to understand the concept of free will and determinism, which will be done in the following paragraphs. I believe in determinism but not to the extent that genes determine our behavior. I also believe that we are morally responsible for our actions. Hence that makes me a 'soft determinist'- which I will describe in the following paragraphs. I based the rejection of genetic determination on th
Determinism, a philosophical doctrine against freedom, is the theory that all events are caused or determined by antecedent conditions. Whatever happens is caused to happen by previous facts. Nothing happens by 'mere chance'. Everything is predetermined. However, many philosophers and religious thinkers claim that not all human actions and decisions are causally determined. It conflicts with our ordinary understanding of the ability to choose or make decisions. Determinism means that people do not have the free will in the traditional sense. Since every event in our lives is determined by outside causes, then we no more than mere robots. Also, since we have no control over the choices we make, therefore, nobody can even legitimately be held morally accountable for anything. For example, according to determinists, if a person kills someone, then he is not morally responsible for his action because he was 'determined' to do so. If we accept the determinism argument and assume human behavior as a consequence of external factors such rather than of free choice, then we must realize that our explanation of human behavior leaves no room for mortality. This is a very disturbing concept because it removes moral responsibility and basically removes meaning from our lives. Determinism ultimately cuts the nerves of ethics. Free will, on the other hand, is the power to detach oneself from any inner motivation and to choose any of several alternatives. The theory of free will is that some decisions are both controlled by a person himself and not completely caused by antecedent factors. The freedom to make your own choices is known as free will. Having free will means that we are able to act voluntarily - that we could have decided to act differently than we did. Feelings that we all have, such as, regret, sorry, remorse, happiness etc. make no sense unless free will exists. People experience guilt and regret only because they believe that they could have done otherwise. If determinism was true, people could never have done otherwise and there would be no reason to feel any regret or guilt. However, a determinist may argue that human behavior is caused by various environmental conditions. The second objection to genetic determinism is that environment plays an immense role in determining and influencing our behavior. In the above menti
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Approximate Word count = 1591
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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