The document discusses the question of whether human freedom exists. It presents arguments for both determinism and indeterminism. Determinism views posit that human actions and choices are predetermined by internal and external factors such as genes, environment, psychological drives, and divine foreordination. Indeterminism views argue that humans possess free will and can originate causal chains of events through their choices and intentions. The document does not take a definitive stance, noting that there is ongoing philosophical debate around this question.

1. IS THERE SUCH A THING
AS HUMAN FREEDOM?

2. If INTENTION is the heart of an
action
Then the heart of an action is
something we cannot see.
Man, is a being who can truly
act, who can truly be the cause,
the origin and initiator of
action, and in this sense free.

3.  We see man properly as an “I” (a subjectivity), as a person, a being who
is in some way present to himself. Thus, he has awareness and
knowledge, and is called to determine and to realize his being.
Therefore, man has will and freedom.
 As a person, man has the power to be the origin and to be the self-
initiating source of his action. His actions are to a certain extent his own.
 They are within his control and he is responsible for them.
“Therefore, act of freedom means, Man
choosing a concrete goal among the
alternatives made possible by the situation. In
view of his chosen goal he takes up certain
means. He sets into motion a certain course of
events, chosen among several possible
alternative courses, starting from within
himself and his bodily powers and extending
to the external world.”
Description of Human Freedom

4. Catholic Tradition
DOES NOT deny:
Discoveries of science
Connections between mind & brain
The human mind is more than physical
functions
Provides capacity for freedom, choice, action
The heart of our capacity to receive God’s
self-revelation in faith, understand, live a life
of loving service
Not everybody agrees on the question
of human freedom

5. we are free because
of God’s providence
Salvation: God’s
initiative of love, that
requires & makes
possible our
cooperation

6. DETERMINISM

7. Social Determinism
Outside influences  behaviour
Examples:
Parents
Culture
Psychological state
Traumatic experiences
One’s: history, social background,
race, gender…

8. Religious Determinism (Predestination)
The attributes of omniscience (all-
knowing) & omnipotent (all-powerful)
assigned to God suggests that He knows
everything that has happened, is
happening, & will happen. Thus,
everything is foreknown by God. This
was strongly held by the Protestant
Theologian John Calvin (1509-1564) –
“God already knows who are elected for
salvation and damnation.”

9. Problem:
This characterization
of God and His
relation to His
creatures doesn’t
square with the image
of an “all-merciful” &
“all-just” God.

10. The Question:
What would be
the value of
doing good if
one is destined
to be damned?

11. Scientific Determinism
The physical & natural sciences
depend on observation,
experimentation, & the consistency
of their hypothesis as they
correspond to facts. This leads them
to accept “Universal causation” &
allows them to presume the
impossibility of freedom in the real
sense.

12. Physical Science & Determinism
Newton (1642-1727) argues that
the entire realm of nature & the
universe is governed by natural
laws.
Since humans are also a part of
physical nature which is governed
by laws of causation, thus humans
are also governed by such laws.
Hence, Freedom is an illusion.

13. Biological & Genetic
Determinism
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) in his
famous work the Origin of Species
argued that different species evolved due
to the principle of natural selection
i.e. the fittest survive and the weak
perishes through the process of
adaptation. Thus, it is nature that
governs various species with its various
processes

14. Genetic Determinism
A modern view of evolutionary
theory is propounded by the
biologist Richard Dawkins. He
argues that evolutionary process
is most evident through the gene.
The human act of altruism is rather
determined by the Selfish Gene
which allows to prolong its
existence.

15. Psychological Determinism
(Freudianism & Behaviorism)

16. Freudianism
The founder of Psychoanalysis, Sigmund
Freud (1856-1939) put forth the theory
that human beings are determined, even
prior to their birth, by their
unconscious minds & various natural
drives (the “id” where the pleasure
principle lies) which their society’s mores
and customs required them to repress.
The Oedipus Complex on boys & the
Electra Complex on girls is an example of
how mankind is determined by inner
drives & unconscious motivations.

17. Behaviorism
Skinner based his psychological theory of
behaviourism from the Russian physiologist
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) who developed the
concept of “conditional reflex.” In his
experiment with dogs, he discovered that the
dog would react by salivating once he rings the
bell every time he gave the dog food. Once
conditioned, he rang the bell without giving
them food yet would salivate nonetheless. This
led them to posit the theory that all animals
(humans included) could be conditioned to act
in certain ways and in fact were conditioned by
external forces.

18. Fatalism
Fatalism is the view that all
events are irrevocably fixed and
predetermined. Such events
cannot be altered in any way by
human beings & that the future
is always beyond our control –
“Whatever will be, will be.”

19. Indeterminism

20. ANDREW WYETH
Christina’s World (1948)
A complex
philosophy
emphasizing the
existence of the
human being, the
lack of meaning
and purpose in
life, and the
solitude of human
existence…

21. Existence Precedes
Essence
Cogito ergo sum.
“Existence precedes essence” implies that the
human being has no essence (no essential self).

22. Existence Before Essence
People are born like a blank slate and create their
essence or being through their unique experiences.

23. #4: Freedom: Choice and Commitment
• Humans have freedom to choose
• Each individual makes choices that create
his or her own nature
• Because we choose, we must accept risk
and responsibility for wherever our
commitments take us
• “A human being is absolutely free and
absolutely responsible. Anguish is the
result.” –Jean-Paul Sartre

24. #5: Dread and Anxiety
• Anxiety stems from our understanding and
recognition of the total freedom of choice that
confronts us every moment, and the
individual’s confrontation with nothingness.
• Man is condemned to be FREE.
• Therefore, according to this philosophical
school of thought, every man is burdened with
an enormous task, to define himself, and by
this very act, man is given the absolute power
and unconditional freedom to discover who he
really is.