Compatibalism

The question whether humans are capable of making there own choices

has been on debate for as long as men have philosophized. People have

different beliefs when it comes to freedom, the most common supported

views are: determinism, indeterminism, and finally compatibalilsm. I am a

soft- determinist, all the choices that we make aren't pre-determined nor

are we "completely free". I agree and disagree with two philosophers that

have opposing views on freedom Baron D'Holbach and William James.

D'Holbach was a determinist that believed that human beings had no

freedom. William James was indeterminist that believed freedom existed.

Both William and D'Holbach have views that a soft determinist can agree

with.

There was a time in my life that, where I thought that I was the

creator of my own destiny. Now I am not sure. 90 percent of all the choices

I make, depend on value judgments that I have created or that has been

thought to me throughout my life. This is a deterministic view that I defend

and that Baron D'Holbach might agree with. D'Holbach believed that we are

not free because we make our choices based upon our environment. Soft

determinists agree with the deterministic view that human behavior is

subject to casual laws. (Chaffe 163). One thing about casual laws, that a

compatibalist may disagree with is when a human is making a choice out of

natural desire, with out compulsion. In the following lines D'Holbach blames

human actions to there environment, "The religion he has adopted, his gov't,

his education, the examples set before him, irresistibly drive him to evil"

(qtd in Chaffe 169). I believe that sometimes our environment may

encourage us to act a certain way. Soft-determinist believe that crimes are

a natural human desire, an internal motivation, which make some actions free

(Chaffe 163).

Some philosophers believed that we are the creators of our own

destiny, and that we are completely free. William James was an

Indeterminist that believed determinism lead to pessimism, that did not

explain human lived experience (Chaffe 176). James thought that

indeterminism was a more rational belief about human freedom. He also

believed that humans had some degree of freedom in the choices they make

(Chaffe 177). As a compatibalist, I agree with James that some choices that

we make are free, but I don't believe that we have complete freedom over

our lives. I wish that I could be free and have no worries but, in reality I

have many responsibilities and obligations which restricts me from being

"completely free".

Soft-determinism is the belief that both determinism and

indeterminism are both compatible. "People are free if they are acting on

their unimpeded