1.0Sgwrs Tei Bowhttps://www.clarkeroberts.co.uk/cyClarke Robertshttps://www.clarkeroberts.co.uk/cy/author/clarke-roberts/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="im4TpGlal4"><a href="https://www.clarkeroberts.co.uk/cy/2012/05/30/in-defence-of-determinism-and-predestination/">Er amddiffyn penderfyniaeth a rhagbenderfyniad.</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.clarkeroberts.co.uk/cy/2012/05/30/in-defence-of-determinism-and-predestination/embed/#?secret=im4TpGlal4" width="600" height="338" title="“In defence of determinism and predestination.” — Bow Tie Talks" data-secret="im4TpGlal4" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script> /*! 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How are you all doing? I would say “I hope you’re all enjoying the sunshine” but there doesn’t appear to much of it about today; it is for this reason I find myself sat inside with a toasted tuna and sweetcorn sandwich, a glass of cherry coke and a bag of chilli heatwave Doritos attempting to explain to you all, the concepts of determinism and predestination. You see, the lack of sun (for some reason), inspired me to pop across the road to see my mother and, as always, a philosophical and theological conversation ensued. As the title suggests, we got onto the topic of free-will, determinism and then ultimately, predestination. As the conversation continued, I found myself arguing in defence of my beliefs in determinism and thought, “Hey, this could make for a pretty interesting blog”. So ladies and gentlemen of Twitter, Facebook and anywhere else that you managed to stumble across this post from, I give you my views, my beliefs and my reasoning behind determinism. Firstly, I guess I should start by explaining the key terms that I’ll be waffling about in this post; especially for any of you who aren’t budding theologians or philosophers. Free-will: This is the gift that mankind believes we are all blessed with; the complete and utter freedom to do what we want, when we want to, according to our own decisions. Example I ask you to stand up, and take off all your clothes. You decide not to. This decision is made because you have the complete freedom to make up your mind as to whether or not you want to comply. There are no external factors influencing you, and I’m not holding a gun to your head. You have made this decision on the spot and it is your individual consciousness that has helped make that decision. Soft-determinism: This is where things start to get a little confusing. Determinism if often split into two categories: soft and hard determinism (no rude jokes please). Soft-determinism is half way between free-will and total (hard) determinism, expressing a degree of freedom of choice whilst having that decision influenced by external factors. The example should help clear this up: Example I ask you to stand up, and take off all your clothes. You decide not to. This decision is made because you are influenced by external factors e.g. what is acceptable in normal social situations, common sense etc. These factors help you in your decision. You know that it is socially unacceptable to take of all your clothes in an inappropriate setting, but yet you still have the free choice to do so or not. You decide that you shouldn’t, because of the social conditioning. Hard-determinism: Things here get a little more simple. Hard-determinism states that every action and every decision made is predetermined; there is no freedom of choice. Example I ask you to stand up, and take off all your clothes. You decide not to. This decision is not actually […]http://ronbc.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/free-will.jpg