Final answer:
The student's question deals with the concept of determinism and its implications for freedom, highlighting the philosophical debate about whether human actions are predetermined or if individuals have free will.
Step-by-step explanation:
Determinism and Free Will
All things have a final cause, a purpose. Freedom is no exception. The concept of determinism suggests that every event or state of affairs, including every human decision and action, is the consequence of antecedent states of affairs in accordance with the natural laws. In other words, the thesis of determinism posits that everything whatever is caused. This belief can lead to the notion of universal determinism, where everything is the effect of some cause or causes, and causal determinism indicates that every event has a cause.
Various philosophers and theorists have debated the extent to which human beings are free to determine their own actions in the face of such determinism. The scenario provided highlights the tension between the belief in personal agency and the notion of a controlling fate or destiny that overrides individual choice, resulting in the conclusion that if there is fate, there is no free will. Furthermore, hard determinism extends this idea to assert that if causal determinism is true, then free action and moral responsibility are rendered impossible.
In contrast, some thinkers have argued for the compatibility of determinism and free will, or proposed alternative perspectives that emphasize the significance of human freedom despite deterministic frameworks. The notion of a First Cause also introduces the concept of a starting point for the cause-effect chain that governs the universe. This debate intersects with core questions about human nature and the possibility of true freedom, and whether our perceived sense of choice is genuine or an illusion.