How much free will did you exercise in the following activities? Mark 1-5. (1= not your decision, 5= your completely free choice).

• How well you slept• What you had for breakfast• The people you live with• What you wear• How you speak to people• How well you worked in the last lesson

**What might have influenced your free choice in these situations?

Free Will• To define FREE WILL and

DETERMINISM

• To identify what influences free will in everyday life

• To evaluate situations in which free will is shown best

Are you free?

In what ways are you free ?

• How well you slept• What you had for breakfast• The people you live with• What you wear• How you speak to people• How well you worked in the last lesson

1. Explain how freely you did 2 of the things below

**What might have influenced your free choice in these situations?

fashionPeer pressure

upbringing

habitsYour biology/ psychology

Culture (The way we do things in the UK)

Use the labels to help you answer.

Random chance

• Biology/ psychology• Upbringing (parents)• culture • laws of the UK• education

• random chance• fashion/ peer

pressure• Habits• Religious beliefs

1. Explain how 2 facts determine what you do and what you are like. My upbringing determines what I am like because….

**How much can someone be held responsible for what they have done? Are there any influences that would reduce their guilt?

Which of these have the biggest influence on who you might turn out to be?

DeterminismIf you calculated the forces, the

angles on the red billiard ball, you could tell exactly where it would go.

Determinism says that in our life, if you calculated the effect of your upbringing, culture, genes, education etc, someone could also predict what you would do.

Eg you will eat chicken curry this evening because English culture has curry, your parents love it, your taste buds react positively to it, your education tells you it’s healthy, it’s your habit to eat it etc – so it’s determined that you will eat chicken curry tonight.

1. Write down the two definitions.2. Which one you believe in? Explain why. 3. To think about: What do you think the poster below is saying?*Draw a picture for both

Determinism= the belief that our choices have been decided by “influencing factors” eg genes, culture

Free Will= the belief that we are essentially free and independent of “influencing” factors

Which of the following help us to free ourselves from influencing factors, so we can be truly free?

a. Fashion & cultureb. Self-awarenessc. Genesd. Upbringinge. Educationf. awareness of good and evil

The unexamined life is not worth living. (Plato)

What is this quote saying?

Free will is a gift. It is one way humans show they are made in the image of God . We have free will because we can decide what to do , freely. We don’t just fall in with the things that influence us. If we were put in the exact same situation a second time, we could do otherwise. Animals do not have free will – nature trains them to act in a certain way : they might have different options to choose between, but they can’t reflect on what they might or might not do.

1. As when someone chooses their own dress style

2. As when a Nazi saves a Jewish baby3. As when a busy person gives up time

to help someone.4. As when a young person stands back

from peer pressure in a fight or calls the police

1. Give an example of a free will action that goes against culture or fashion or other influences.

2. How does this example show free will ? (did they reflect and choose, or just act on influence? How can you tell ?)

**What do all these examples have in common?

Self-awareness

Knowledge of