The Illusion of Determinism by Edwin A Locke

The Illusion of Determinism by Edwin A Locke

Determinism is the doctrine that everything we think, feel, believe, and do is caused by factors outside our control--that we have no choice regarding our character, our thoughts, our actions, our lives. There have been many forms of determinism but the one that is most popular today is based on neuroscience, with the enthusiastic support of many psychologists, philosophers, and physical scientists (e.g., physicists). This version argues that we are controlled by our physical brains with the brain being which are set in motion by environmental factors. The debate continues because many people disagree with determinism and assert that they have, in some form, free will. Determinists insist that such a belief represents folk psychology, an illusion held by people who are ignorant of what science has allegedly proved. Determinists typically believe that:

• Consciousness is the same thing as brain activity (as opposed to requiring a brain)
• The conscious mind, though real, plays no significant role in human life
• The human mind is not significantly different from that of the lower animals such as chimpanzees
• All causes are material (or mechanical)
• Goal-directed action applies equally to people and machines
• The concept of a self or the self as a causal agent has no intelligible meaning
• Key neuroscience experiments have proven that the intention to act appears after the brain has already decided what to do
• Determinism is not only compatible with objective knowledge but is also the only guarantee of objective knowledge, because it is based on scientific truth
• Determinism has to be either proved or disproved based on philosophical and/or scientific arguments
• Free will, at best, is a necessary illusion

On the other side of the coin, various free will advocates typically believe that:

• Elementary particles which make up our brain act at random, thus refuting causal necessity
• Free will and determinism are compatible
• Religion validates free will

In this book I will show that all of the above beliefs are mistaken. I will also show that free will is, as many have claimed, self-evident, even though most people have not validated it or correctly identified what it consists of--what it is, and what it isn't.

At the Robert H. Smith School of Business, Edwin A. Locke is Dean's Professor of Motivation and Leadership. The University of Maryland's Smith School of Business is also linked with the Department of Psychology. His undergraduate degree in Psychology, as well as his MA and Ph.D., were all earned at Harvard. degrees from Cornell University He has almost 200 articles, chapters, and books to his credit, including (with G.

A Theory of Goal Planning and Task Performance, The Essence of Leadership (with others), and Prime Movers: The Characteristics of the Great Wealth Producers (all by Latham). Dr. Locke has earned the Association for Industrial Organizational Psychology's Outstanding Scientific Contribution Award as well as the H. The Academy of Management's Human Resource Division gave him the Heneman Career Contribution Award. He has also garnered various teaching accolades, including the University of Maryland's Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Award.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781543914221
ISBN 10	1543914225
Title	The Illusion of Determinism
Author	Edwin A Locke
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	BookBaby
Year published	2017-11-03
Number of pages	132
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.