Philosophy

The actions of humans are not free as some would think. Social scientists like Skinner and Freud had managed to argued that our actions are not determined by our free will but rather determined by elements and factors that are beyond our control. The argument of these thinkers is referred as Hard Determinism (La Fave 2006).

    It has been proven scientifically that we are all a products of our genetic makeup and the environment that we live in. Take for example your beliefs and desires, let start with your desire. Your desire for eating many sweets for example is not a personal decision of yourself. There is a great chance that your genes had influenced your favoritism in sweet foods. Your genes dictate what are your preference when it comes to food. This is also true for your beliefs. Take for example your passion for a monogamous relationship. Your belief  on single partner marriage is not your choice per se. Rather, it is a product of being raised in a strong Catholic family. In short, your beliefs and desires are not in your control but rather a dominion of your genes and your environment.

    You must take note that these beliefs and desires control and determine your action. Your preference for an ice cream and cake for example during your birthday is a good example of this. Your monogamous marriage in the future was also determined by your belief in Catholic doctrines. You must remember that the roots of your desires and beliefs which is your genes and your environment is beyond your control. No one has the capability to choose what or whose family they will be born. No one can alter their genetic makeup at their will. No one can control their genes and environment. To be free you would need to be able to control the possibility of doing something else. Youd have to control your genetics and environment which is definitely impossible. This proves that we humans do not possess any free will. Rather, our actions are determined by the factors that are beyond our control which are our genes and our environment. This way of proving hard determinism by linking human actions through a long chain that existed even prior to his or her existence is called the distant causation argument.