The Dilemma of Determinism by Willam James
In my final blog post, I will be discussing the Dilemma of Determinism, written by Willam James. Firstly, I'd like to provide some background information about Willam James. James was an American philosopher, educator, and psychologist. He earned a medical degree in 1869 from the Harvard school of medicine. However, he never practiced medicine, instead, he taught an anatomy and physiology course. Overall, William James was an influential figure that was known as the "Father of American Psychology" and known to be one of the founders of pragmatism.
Free will vs Determinism
To understand the Dilemma of Determinism, we must first look at the argument it is challenging. William James states, "He does not know any other subject less worn out than the topic of free will. In his essay, he seeks to provide a better understanding of determinism, so people can decide whether to believe in it or be against it.
Here is a great image depicting the key differences between determinism and free will. Additionally, the article that can be found in the links helps break down the differences. Firstly, free will is defined as the ability to choose a different course of action, and no pre-determination. Whereas, determinism is defined as the philosophical position that for every event there exists conditions that could cause no other event. Both free will and determinism have additional subcategories included, which are presented in the image.
The Dilemma of Determinism
William James based his arguments on two suppositions: one was that when we make theories and discuss them, we do so to give us subjective satisfaction. The second was that in the event of two conceptions, the more rational one is the one that is more true. James discusses how he wants to keep the word "chance" but get rid of the word "freedom". He defines chance as a purely negative and relative term that provides us with no information, also stating chance may be “a bad thing or a good thing”. James wants to get rid of the word freedom because of its improper usage by both determinists and free will believers. He said, “Its eulogistic associations have so far overshadowed all the rest of its meaning that both parties claim the sole right to use it”.
Willam James then goes into discussing the differences between determinism and indeterminism. Providing us with his own definitions, he states that determinism professes “The future has no ambiguous possibilities hidden in its womb: the part we call the present is compatible with only one totality. Any other future complement than the one fixed from eternity is impossible”. On the other hand, indeterminism was defined as “the parts have a certain amount of loose play on one another, so that the laying down of one of them does not necessarily determine what the others shall be. It admits that possibilities may be in excess of actualities and that things not yet revealed to our knowledge may really in themselves be ambiguous”.
Video Discussing Determinism vs Indeterminism
Here is a short video discussing the difference between determinism and indeterminism. It breaks down these two topics in a simplistic manner, making them easier to understand.
William James also goes into the topic of subjectivism in the Dilemma of Determinism. He describes the subjectivistic point of view and explains it has three great branches - scientificism, sentimentalism, and sensualism, respectively. James states, “They all agree essentially about the universe, in deeming that what happens there is subsidiary to what we think or feel about it”. Subjectivism relates to the idea that experience is more important than the actual events that occur. Eventually, James states “He hopes no one accuses him of underrating the reasons in favor of subjectivism but as strong as these reasons are for subjectivism, they fail to convince his own mind”. In other words, James provided a case for subjectivism but personally, he was not completely convinced by the doctrine of subjectivism.
Discussion Questions
- Do you happen to agree more with the idea of determinism or indeterminism?
- Do you think people from other countries have the same idea of free will, that people in the United States have?
- Do you think a lack of free will would sway someone into agreeing more with determinism?
Good, David. Subjective satisfaction is good, but subjective obsession/fixation is not: that's the nub. The problem with subjectivism as WJ sees it is simply that it treats life as strictly a matter of personal concern, as if it were all about oneself. He and the pragmatists generally are focused on our place in nature and the society of our peers. It's not all just about ourselves.
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