Determinism Issues & Methodology

What is the role of determinism and free will in Hinduism?

Is scientific determinism compatible with Hinduism?

What forces influence human thought and action?

The methodology employed to address these issues includes the use of literature, religious sermons, textbooks, research journal articles, and Web sites devoted to the issues of determinism, indeterminism, free will, and Hinduism. Such sources have provided the research from which the following analysis is drawn.

In ShakespeareÆs tragedy Julius Caesar, at one point in the drama Cassius explains to Brutus: ôThe faultàis not in our stars, / But in ourselvesö (Shakespeare I.ii.140-141). CassiusÆ words explain that his fate and the fate of Brutus are not dictated by anything other than their own choices. Such a view stands in direct contrast to scientific determinism. Scientific determinism views human choice as being determined by genetics, environment (social experience), and psychology, ôDeterminism holds that each state of affairs is determined by all states of affairs that came before it. What happens next is completely fixed by what came before and could not be otherwiseö (Free 1). In a rejection of free will, scientific determinism posits internal and external forces as dictating human action and not free choice.

In Hinduism, the doctrine of karma states that ôevery tho

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nd goddesses. By seeking divine aid, the individual will find release from the cycle of death and rebirth. We see the dualism of determinism and free will advocated by the indeterminists in these paths to salvation. We see determinism in oneÆs fatalistic acceptance of karma, whether it has produced a good life or a bad one. As one theologian explains, ôIt is difficult to accept that a loving and just God would permit the exploitation of the helpless and the escape from punishment of the wicked. According to karma, such inequities are only apparent. The observed maldistribution of wealth and health, of capacities and comforts, has arisen from actions of varying merit and demerit performed by individuals in part life-termsö (Introduction 5). If the above is true, then karma suggests that in our current lifetime, there is no point thinking we have any control over our future because it has already been determined by karma. If karma is the outcome of decisions made previously, there is no freedom to change things currently. In this manner, Hinduism is most akin to scientific determinism, since our actions are the effect of previous causes. However, within this concept we also see an element of free will that is incompatible w
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2994
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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