Are you bothered by the thought of a rigidly determined existence? Does the idea that all your actions are determined disturb you-- or reassure you?
How would a personal belief in determinism affect your view of crime and punishment? Do you think that people are generally responsible for their crimes, or are they not responsible due to deterministic forces beyond their control?
Do you believe that every event has a cause and that free actions are possible? If so, are these beliefs compatible?
Does it matter to you whether you have free will? Would your behavior change if you believed (or didn't believe) that all your actions were determined by forces beyond your control?
Are free acts, as Stace and compatibilists say, "those whose immediate causes are psychological states in the agent?" Would such acts still be free if the "psychological states" were secretly controlled by someone else through hypnosis?
Sample Solution
The idea of a rigidly determined existence does bother me. I find comfort in the idea that I have some control over my life and can make choices that affect my future. Knowing that everything is predetermined leaves me feeling powerless, as if there is no point to striving for anything because it was already decided before I ever had the chance to act.