Free Will vs. Determinism is a complex, intertwined, and co-dependent topic like nature vs. nurture or the age-old question of whether the chicken or the egg came first. Philosophers have contemplated the question for years and have not arrived at a satisfactory answer. While considering what topic to tackle for this assignment, I posed the question of free will versus determinism to a philosopher friend, whose response was, “I don't care. "He thinks it's not worth asking the question because it won't have any impact on our actions anyway. Which ultimately makes him a bit of a determinist, I suppose, although I'm sure he'd disapprove of being classified as one. In the end, I I opted for the free will versus determinism argument because lately it seems that I am often faced with situations where my ability to exercise my free will is hindered when other individuals exercise their own free will. Although, looking back, perhaps I chose the 'topic because pre-existing circumstances, like reading Walden Two over the summer, made me want to do it. Or maybe I chose this topic because it's the topic the Universe wanted me to tackle, which would also explain why I had previously. read Skinner's book cited so often in our text. Free will advocates believe that we have total control over our actions and that it is the actions we choose, and not external causes, that determine the outcome. Supporters of determinism deny free will, believing instead that every action we take is determined by pre-existing causes. (text, page 144) Fatalism and predestination are extreme forms of determinism that believe that God or the Universe has already determined what will happen, and any action we take, or choice we think about making... half of paper... ...I should have made a different choice that would have changed the outcome. During this course, I involved my older son in discussions about the topics covered. He is interested at first, thinks he knows the correct answer, and then gets frustrated when there is no simple or correct answer. His reaction is, I think, completely age appropriate. Unfortunately, it seems that many people don't move beyond this need for simple answers and rejection of complexity. Socrates said: “life without research is not worth living”. He believed that the purpose of life was to learn from living. If we rigidly adhere to any one line of thinking, if we fail to examine and question our actions and thoughts, if we fail to examine our lives, if we fail to learn from our mistakes, then what is really the point ? Works Cited1) http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/84