paradox of freedom

a fundamental paradox that arises under assumptions of determinism in human behavior: Although specific behaviors can be attributed to specific antecedent causes, humans almost universally experience a sense of being free to perform or refrain from performing any given behavior at the point of action (see free will). Hard determinism resolves this paradox by insisting that the sense of free choice is illusory, whereas soft determinism argues that such a sense is not in fact incompatible with causal explanations.

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Psychology term of the day

January 19th 2025

holism

n. any approach or theory holding that a system or organism is a coherent, unified whole that cannot be fully explained in terms of individual parts or characteristics. The system or organism may have properties as a complete entity or phenomenon in addition to those of its parts. Thus, an analysis or understanding of the parts does not provide an understanding of the whole. —holistic adj.