Free Will Essays - Philosophy, Metaphysics, Free Will, Determinism

Free Will Do I have Free Will? After considering the evidence for the three views I have concluded that soft determinism is best supported. I will be arguing for soft determinism with evidence presented in the class readings. I will start out with the evidence of unconscious motivation. It is the unconscious that forces us to act out things we think are justifiable but can actually be hurtful. With the three factors of our unconscious state, the ID, super-ego and the unconscious ego, we tend to be in a tug-of-war with our mind over who has control. With the mind being in the unconscious state we tend to make compromises in our actions. With the unconscious working, we have the freedom of free will. Once the ID is in action it puts its demands in the table and wants satisfaction while the super-ego denies the wish. We need our unconscious to mediate between the two forces otherwise our mind would be in a constant battle. Another argument for the point would be of moral responsibility. According to Hospers we have none. We are conditioned from birth with qualities of our personality, social standing and attitudes. Most people are so set on their ways that unconsciously they block out rational thought and act on what they have been programmed to do. In the unconscious state we are just bystanders to our neurosis which is always in control and has already been unconsciously determined. If most of our acts are compelled then we have no means of true freedom. Now let us look at free acts versus unfree acts. First, we should have a definition of both: free acts are caused at that moment by internal states whereas unfree acts occur due to outside forces. A true Libertarian believes that there is no cause for anything, that everything happens as the self decides while a Determinist believes everything happens due to some outside force. The soft determinist has the right idea, that all acts are necessitated by previous causes. There are some free acts and there are some unfree acts. We need both of these forces to guide us through life. If we go through life without worrying about a single thing then I believe that this life has been wasted, that we have just been going through some routine only to get by and then move on to something better which has been determined for us somehow. We need free acts thrown into the mix so we have some reason for living. Right now I am acting out of free will in a way, I am writing this paper. You might say i t is an unfree act because it is an assignment but I can choose not to do it. My free act is that I want to learn more by exploring this subject so I can apply myself to better things. In soft determinism we also need some unfree acts. Just this past weekend after the snow storm I was pulling into the parking lot and pulled into the space, knowing very well that I buried my car in 8 inches of fresh snow. This event was caused by the huge amount of snow we got and that the lot wasn't plowed. Since it was not my choice to get my car stuck in the snow, this is an example of an unfee act. While most things are determined for us it is that little free agent that keeps us going. The evidence for Libertarianism is less persuasive than Determinism and Soft Determinism. First of all the argument for the inner standpoint is very unpersuasive. This is trying to show that determinism is false, which is entirely impossible. The argument is that you cannot look at things from an outer standpoint, that a determinist tries looking at it as through a different, or wrong, point of view and when they discover that it is not there then they their beliefs don't exist anymore. Also, that moral freedom is an inner act is hard to comprehend. It is said that the act must be one of which the person judged can be regarded as the sole author. He can be held morally responsible for

Child Abuse and Neglect

Child Abuse and Neglect Child abuse and neglect is a rising problem in America. However, numerous cases are not reported every year and they go unheard of. This causes the public to not be as informed as possible. This issue is something everyone needs to understand and deal with. Schools, teachers, families, and even society need to further educate themselves on the issue of child abuse and neglect because it has a huge impact on everyone.Child abuse and neglect are very similar ideas. Neglect is a form of child abuse. Neglect is to give little attention or respect to, leaving unattended through carelessness. Abuse is defined as to use so as to injure or damage. Child abuse would be to injure or damage a child. Many people do not always associate them together because most people probably do not think of neglect as a form of child abuse.Among more than 1,400 adult females, childhood sex...When people think of child abuse, they usually are thinking of just physical abuse. This happens because physical abuse is the most common and it is easier to spot. However, this is not the only form of child abuse. Other forms of child abuse are sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect.Physical abuse accounts for twenty-five percent of all abuse cases. It is the most recognizable and lethal causing over fifty-six of the fatalities related to abuse. Some warning signs of abuse are broken bones, unusual scars, burns, bruises, and repeated accidental injuries. Sexual abuse accounts for about six percent of abuse cases. There are no physical signs or warnings to catch this type of abuse. Usually, sexual abuse goes unreported. It is estimated that only one in ten cases are reported. Some reasons for this are the children may be too young to talk or they are confused about what happened. Also,

Monetary Policy (Macroeconomics) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Monetary Policy (Macroeconomics) - Research Paper Example One of the impacts could result from a spike in Treasury yield, creating a need to raise government spending. This has a direct impact on social development as it involves spending more tax-payer’s money (http://www.ny.frb.org, n.p). In relation to societal issues impacted by the policy, the article indicates that such changes could spike up credit excesses leading to a scenario of financial instability as witnessed during the period of the Great Recession (http://www.ny.frb.org, n.p). The financial instability could be as a result of jeopardized debt ratios as well as increased amount of internal debts. On the other hand, scaling back the Federal Reserve’s Economic value has a great impact on Emerging Market Economies (EME’s). To begin with, it would lead to the reduction of the Federal Reserve’s Liquidity Cushions on foreign exchange creating a scenario whereby foreign investors withdraw their investment capitals. In addition, it would lead to a scenario of jeopardized financial stability within foreign markets thus creating vulnerability in their levels of development (http://www.ny.frb.org, n.p). "U.S. Monetary Policy and Emerging Market Economies - Federal Reserve Bank of New York." U.S. Monetary Policy and Emerging Market Economies - Federal Reserve Bank of New York. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 July 2014.