The document discusses the philosophical debate between dualism vs materialism and determinism vs freewill. Dualism views the human as consisting of both a physical body and non-physical soul, while materialism sees the human as only physical. Determinism believes all events are caused by preceding factors, while freewill argues humans can choose their behavior independent of influences. Psychology still grapples with these debates regarding the extent of human freewill.

1. Do people have
freewill?
Decide!

2. Psychology
Debate:
Materialism vs. Dualism
Determinism vs. Freewill

3. The debate then & now
 Psychology still wrestles with the old
philosophical debate of freewill vs.
determinism , which grew out of an even
older debate over the soul called
materialism vs. dualism

4. Dualism:
 Each human being consists of two distinct
but conjoined entities, a material body and
an immaterial soul
– The body is part of the natural world
– The soul is supernatural

5. René Descartes (1596-1650)
Dualist
 Believed that the body is a
machine and can operate
without the soul- the bodies
of animals are soulless
machines
 Said that thoughts are the
one function of the soul
because humans, and not
animals, have them
 Equated the idea of soul
with the idea of a mind

6. Materialism
 Each human being consists of nothing
more than a physical body.
 There is no limit to what can be physically
studied

7. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
Materialist
 Said that the spirit, or soul,
is a meaningless concept
and nothing exists but
matter and energy
 All the seemingly voluntary
choices we make are
actually physical
processes of the body
 Conscious thought is
purely a product of the
brain’s machinery

8. Freewill
 Humans are free to choose their behavior
 Can reject influences (biological or
environmental) at will

9. Determinism
 Every physical event is caused, and, since
human behavior is a physical event, it
follows that it too is caused by preceding
factors
 If perfect knowledge is gained of the
current state of the universe, then future
events are entirely predictable

10. Freewill
Pros - Cons
 Used in Humanistic and  Pure freewill is
cognitive psychology incompatible with the
 Introspection on our assumptions of science
decisions seems to  It is difficult to define
indicate freewill what freewill is and
 Even if humans do not what the self is that
have freewill, the fact does the choosing
that they think they do  The evidence of the
has many implications existence of freewill is
for behavior mostly subjective

11. Determinism
Pros - Cons
 Used in Behaviorism,  Determinism is
sociocultural, inconsistent with
psychodynamic and society’s ideas for self
biological psychology control and
 Mental disorders seem responsibility
to indicate a lack of  Can never lead to
freewill complete prediction
 Determinism is a key  Is unfalsifiable since it
assumption of science- always assumes a
which seeks laws of cause exists, even if
cause and effect one has not been found
yet