How Free is the Will of the Individual within Society - Research Paper Example

Lecturer: How free is the will of the individual within society? Raquel Mallett, a former at a small Christian academy got involved in an affair with the school’s assistant principal, who at the time had a special interest in her. At first, they engaged in casual talk, later followed by calls, texts and within months, the principal started driving her home and befriending her family. When she was sixteen, she received gifts from the assistant principal that included a laptop computer, horse riding trips and clothes and later sex as she narrates. At the beginning, she did not comprehend what was happening; however, she now understands all the gifts and outings were crucial in the grooming process. Mallet now 20, filed a civil suit in U.S. District Court claiming the school authorities failed to ensure that she was safe from the predator; thus, the suit was as a result of her ordeal with the assistant principal. Her lawsuit alleges that school officials and teachers understood or were ware about the abuse but did nothing to end it or keep her safe. Mallett consents that she kept quiet because she was afraid no person would believe her; besides, she wanted to reveal her ordeal but did not know whom she would trust; thus, she felt trapped. However, she managed to overcome her fear and embraced the philosophy that promotes embracing what is correct even if it means standing alone; therefore, her past hugely influenced her will to reveal the secret and consequently the lawsuit she filed. She eventually revealed the secret to the school chaplain who in return informed the authorities. All through the affair, she considered it wrong; however, the assistant principal would defend the affair by saying that he loved her and she trusted him. She got into this trusting relationship since the predator was good at comprehending what worked for the victim; thus, it was difficult for the victim to see clearly the big picture when sex began. Choice could be free will or determined and has implications on moral conscientiousness Stace argued that free will indicates the absence immediate causal agents like being forced at gunpoint. Therefore, this soft determinism viewpoint never denies internalization of past experiences cognition and emotions that consequently form the basis for a choice. Mallet makes the choice of revealing the secret to the school chaplain through her experience, cognition and morality, as it is certain that “without free will there would be no morality” (Stace 924) since morality regards what individuals ought to or not do. However, if a person lacks the freedom of choice, it would be meaningless to correct the individual’s act in addition there would a big challenge to punish the individual for what he or she could not help doing. Stace greatly opposes “hard determinism” pointing out that if free will did not exist, attaining high levels of morality would be impossible. For instance, if an action taken by an individual does not make the individual morally responsible then, encouraging people to embrace moral choices would also be outside the picture. Stace goes a long way to illustrate free acts and unfree acts; for instance, free choices are not compelled by circumstances external to the individual; however, unfree acts are compelled by external forces (928). An example of a free act is an individual starving himself in protest and in this case, Mallet decides to get over her fear and let the secret out despite the way the society may perceive her. Morality drove her to this choice therefore the scenario shows a compatibility take of free will and determinism. Stace state that soft determinism is the absence of coercive external agents that enables an individual to take a certain action freely. Therefore, from this viewpoint, a person’s behavior may be a result of internal psychological states that have causes but the absence of immediate pressing agents that influence behavior ensures that the individual makes a free will (Stace 929). Mallett’s decision to make her ordeal public is an initiative to teach others and to help other victims speak up and alert parents and teenagers about the trapping predators. Mallett considered her past experiences both psychologically and physically with the assistant principal, which motivated her to reveal her ordeal and help protect other students from such ordeals (Balda, “Detroit Free Press, Ex-student Says She Was Plied with Gifts, Sexually Used.” ). Free will assigns moral responsibility to individuals thus there is significant positive correlation between beliefs in free will and the assignment of moral responsibility. For instance, Mallett’s moral responsibility and past experiences made her reveal her ordeal with the assistant principal to the school chaplain thus her action highly relied on past experiences. Mallet reckons that she would not want what happened to her to be experienced by another teenager therefore her free will was influenced by her moral responsibility to protect other students from similar ordeals. The nation’s statistics indicate an alarming rate of such ordeals with estimates of 1 in nearly every 10 students in grade k-12 being victims of sexual misconduct that range from inappropriate touch to sex by teachers or school officials, which translates toroughly4.5 million students in the country. Research into teacher misconduct cases reveals an increase in educator misconduct; thus, it is becoming a huge problem. The concept of moral responsibility is not only a basis for fairness and deserved outcomes but also a focus for what is essential in an individual and the community. Therefore, the consequences of violating morality not only need to be fair but also have to promote better outcomes for an individual and the community. In Michigan, the law states that the age for consent is 16years and indulging in sex with minor who is less than 16 years is a third-degree sexual felony punishable by up to 15 years in jail. However, under new state laws passed last year states it is illegal for a schoolteacher or administrator to engage in sexual acts with any student younger than 18 years (Balda, “Detroit Free Press, Suit Raises Issue of Grooming, Sexual Abuse by School Officials.”). One theoretical explanation of behavior in people regards that people anchor aggressive instincts that constantly require expression; therefore, experiment offers institutional rationalization for release of such impulses. Even when people comprehend the vicious effects of particular actions, the individuals can constantly carry out the actions even though they are irreconcilable with basic values of morality. For instance, the assistant principal was aware of the consequences of his actions, he however chose to carry on with the affair. In addition, few people have the necessary resources required to resist authority therefore, Mallett found herself trapped in the abusive relationship with the assistant principal, which influenced her free will (Balda, “Detroit Free Press, Ex-student Says She Was Plied with Gifts, Sexually Used.”). She was in some sense against what the assistant principal did to her and she protested even though she obeyed; she was convinced of the wrongness of the actions. However, she could not bring herself to make an open break with the assistant principal, this is as stated by Milgram after his experiment that, “…the subject is miserable at the prospect of having to repudiate the Authority to his face” (957). The assistant principal may not have derived satisfaction from the actions targeted at Mallett, but he may have often liked the feeling he derived from pleasing her. The essence of obedience is an individual develops the view that he or she is a way of conveying another person’s wishes; thus, the individual is not responsible for his or her action (Milgram 958). Hard determinism advocates that human behavior similar to all other objects in the physical world come from a specific cause that either within or without an individual. The determinism theory considers several causes of human behavior that include human nature, environmental causes, and social dynamic and psychological forces. The theory bases on a scientific model, which considers that everything has a cause; thus, free will does not exist. Proponents of hard determinism argue that the world is deterministic by nature thus human actions are deterministic as well. If human actions follow natural laws, it makes it difficult to hold that actions could be freely chosen. However, advocates of determinism face contradiction, when they argue their point against individuals who argue for free will. Supporters of hard determinism argue that human action is determined casually therefore there individuals never act freely thus not morally liable for their actions. This perspective points out that people choose actions uniquely necessitated by established states of the world similar to other events. Therefore, it is not possible to act otherwise because it would necessitate a possibility ruled out by determinism. Since people live in a world where initial conditions have been set and laws fixed, then casualty eliminates genuine freedom. Thus, human actions are caused or necessitated, therefore actions are never done freely hence the agent is never responsible for the action. Therefore, since actions are caused, then people are not responsible for their actions. Hence, actions, choices, decisions and thoughts are droplets of deterministic events initiated long before an individual is born; therefore, an individual never initiates or controls his or her actions. In conclusion, it is clear human beings have to a given extent freedom as defended by Stace through his perception of free will. Stace establishes free will and individual responsibility since morality concerns actions of people and what they are supposed to and not to do. This free will coupled by morality enabled Mallett’s disclosure of the secretive affair with the assistant principal at the school she attended. Morality enabled her to consider the ordeal with the assistant principal and wished that it never happened to another student; hence, her desire to file a law suit against the school for failing to protect her against the predator; thus, Mallett’s make free will on the basis of previous events. Works Cited Balda, Tresa. “Detroit Free Press, Ex-student Says She Was Plied with Gifts, Sexually Used.”USA Today. April 28, 2013. Web. 29 April 2013. . Balda, Tresa. “Detroit Free Press, Suit Raises Issue of Grooming, Sexual Abuse by School Officials.” April 28, 2013. Web. April 2013. . Milgram, Stanley. The Perils of Obedience n.d. 950-960 Stace, Walter T. Is Determinism Inconsistent with Free Will? n.d. 924-931 “The Information Philosopher”. The Standard Argument Against Free Will. n.d. 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