Determinism and free will: review of the literature

Abstract

During the past century various theories of mental functioning that rest on a deterministic view of man have gained dominance. However, a review of psychodynamic writing shows that there has remained a need for some concept of autonomy and inner direction, as represented by the concepts of ego autonomy and behavioral self-control. In fact, some studies of mental health and psychotherapy can be interpreted as supporting the existential view that the experience of "freedom" and "choice" is a genuine phenomenon. Although concepts of behavioral self-control may reconcile these contradictions, the author concludes that no theories of mental functioning have entirely dealt with the paradoxes of autonomy, inner direction, and choice.