ABSTRACT
Free will and determinism: hard determinism and soft determinism; biological, environmental and psychic determinism. The scientific emphasis on causal explanations. The belief that behaviour does not happen by choice but is instead governed by forces that is beyond our control. There are two versions of this concept: hard and soft determinism. Humanism is the only approach that advocates complete free will. All of the other approaches see our behaviour as being controlled in some way. It assumes that all individuals are unique and therefore not merely a product of their genes or environment. The behavioural approach has a number of assumptions about human behaviour but one of the most influential is the view that behaviour is governed by conditioning. To say that all behaviour is determined seems very pessimistic, but to say that it’s all free will seems unrealistic, consequently, soft determinism offers a useful alternative and might be seen as a useful compromise.
