Freedom Of The Will And Determinism

The humanist approach to life is based upon the freedom to make rational choices among significant alternatives.
Controversy exists over whether human beings are free agents. The major conflicting positions are:

Determinism: man's life and his actions are pre-determined or conditioned--he has no free will.
Freudian psychology: the environment shapes man's psyche and greatly influences his behavior.
Sociobiology: a new form of determinism which holds that behavior is governed biologically, to ensure survival of the individual's genes.
Indeterminism: since at times we regret past choices, free will is a real possibility.
Libertarianism: everyone can be free; no one needs to be bound by his character, the unconscious mind, or any other external force.

A major spokesman for determinism is B. F. Skinner, a behavioral psychologist, who argues that humanists mistakenly believe human dignity depends upon establishing a case for freedom. For Skinner, freedom is liberation from something unpleasant.
In the individual, freedom can be achieved by willingness to break old patterns and explore new pathways, and by self-imposed limitations, substituting internal for external reinforcements.

-- Bob Green