“The Obiousness of the Truth of Determination”

David Hume argues that we already know human behavior is determined. He views freedom as an illusion, in other words, we have no free will. Everything we do is because of cause and effect. Whatever happens is determined by prior events. He says “The same motives always produce the same actions: The same events follow from the same causes. Ambition, avarice, self-love, vanity, friendship, generosity, public spirit: these passions, mixed in various degrees, and distributed through society, have been, from the beginning of the world, and still are, the source of all the actions and enterprises, which have ever been observed among mankind.”, which refers to the idea that everything happens for a reason. He also explains that this has to be true also when people do things outside of their normal character it is caused by something. As an example when I get snappy with my boyfriend it’s usually because im hungry or tired. I would have to disagree with the idea that we have no free will because then we would not be responsible for our own actions. We can decide to do the right thing or the wrong thing. As an example if I rob a bank and I get arrested I can not say I had to rob a bank because I’m broke due to COVID-19 and I should be released. I will still have to pay for my actions because I chose to make a decision to rob a bank instead of finding a legal way to make or borrow money. I believe that some things are not done by my free will such as my ethnicity and where I was born but other things such as how I act on right and wrong is my choice. Otherwise I would not have any consequences for my actions.

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