Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Daniel Dennett

According to Daniel Dennett, a distinguished philosopher, most philosophers abandoned the idea of a free will taking place behind and before any physical activity occurs was abandoned long ago in favor of a view in which agency comes with ongoing control and ongoing responsiveness to reason, or other cognitive activity (Blackburn). This is a compatibilist view of free will which has replaced the interventionist conception. In this new view, there need be no single moment of decision, but a decision is something which the whole person makes, and it can extend over time and space.

The dominant drives in an individualÆs personality lead them to do what is necessary and desirable under the specific social conditions of their culture, so long as their personality closely conforms to the social character (Fromm). An individualÆs psychological satisfaction occurs if they act in accordance with the demands of their character structure and also when they read or listen to ideas that appeal to them. An individualÆs character leads them to act according to what is necessary for them from a practical standpoint and which also gives them psychological satisfaction. By adapting themselves to social conditions, individuals develop those traits which make them desire to act as they need to act. The characters of individuals are molded in such a way that makes them productive forces that are indispensable to the functioning of that society: their free will is molded by the society in which they live. They internalize the external necessities for the task of a given economic and social system.

The family applies the educational patterns of the society they live in to the young child before they reach school age, and they also represent the social character of the society in their own personalities (Fromm). Methods of early childhood training and educational techniques employed while the child is growing are the cause of character d...

Page 1 of 3 Next >

More on Daniel Dennett...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Daniel Dennett. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 01:44, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1708785.html