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  • Essay / Free Will: Compatibilism, Libertarianism, and Free Will

    Hard determinists believe that all actions and decisions are determined by a number of different causes. Every mental event, choice, intention, decision and our actions are nothing more than an effect of another equally necessary event (Hondereich). For example, when you choose what to wear in the morning, it is affected by many different factors like society and style, the weather, your religious affiliation, etc. The scientific proof of this statement is linked to Isaac Newton's theory of relativity which mentions that for every action there are positive and/or negative results. In a sense, this is similar to the theory of hard determinism. Our actions vary from desires, wishes and motivations, which are essentially brought about by specific conditions, as mentioned earlier. Freud stated that factors such as wants and desires are the result of psychological conditioning and that our repressed feelings produced by the human psyche (Id, Ego and Superego) come together uncontrollably later in life, affecting all the actions and decisions you will take.