f which we are unaware. Scientific determinists believe there is a system of laws that guide cause-and-effect and, therefore, human behavior. Free will of the kind that leads to moral responsibility is non-existent. As Wilks explains, ôDeterminism presupposed natural order based on a system of metaphysical laws and necessity, universal causation and the possibility of total predictability, given knowledge of psychical and physical conditionsö (279).
Hinduism is a religious philosophy of the universe and the place of human beings within it. To understand the notion of determinism and free will within Hinduism, one must understand a few concepts central to Hindu doctrine. The notion of the soul to Hindus is known as atman or self. However, atman is but the spark that animates matter with life, a tiny particle of the overall spirituality of the universe known as Brahman (Introduction 4). The main goal of awareness for Hindus is the recognition that atman is connected as one with Br
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