Hard Determinism - Psychological Effects of Belief in Hard Determinism

Psychological Effects of Belief in Hard Determinism

William James was an American pragmatist philosopher who coined the term "soft determinist" in an influential essay titled The Dilemma of Determinism. He argued against determinism, holding that the important issue is not personal responsibility, but hope. He believed that thorough-going determinism leads either to a bleak pessimism or to a degenerate subjectivism in moral judgment. He proposed the way to escape the dilemma is to allow a role for chance. James was careful to explain that he would rather "debate about objects than words", however. He did not insist in saying that replacing determinism with a model including chance had to mean we had 'free will'.

The determinist would counter-argue that there is still reason for hope. Whether or not the universe is determined does not change the fact that the future is unknown, and might very well always be. From a naturalist point of view, a person's actions still play a role in the shape of that future. Thomas W. Clark, founder and director of the Center for Naturalism, explains that humans are not merely the playthings of patterned, natural forces in the universe - but rather we are ourselves examples of those forces.

In fact, it is even conceivable that it is a lack of belief or understanding of determinism that is likely to cause 'bleak pessimism', or else fatalism (one could suffer from feelings of helplessness). An individual might therefore be enlightened by hard determinism in some sense. By understanding the many factors of a situation that influence their behavior as natural beings, they may obtain better objectivity in their decision making.

Research on the effects of belief in free will has yet to support the idea that belief in determinism has negative consequences.