Final Essay

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July 29, 2019

Literature

Steve Cave

Steven Cave in his article mentions, “moral liberty—the capacity to discern and pursue the good, instead of merely being compelled by appetites and desires” CITATION Ste161 \l 1033 (Cave). This reflects that there is not free because people lack authority to make choice. Human beings are also facing a conflicting situation in which they have to chose between right and wrong. This limits their freedom for making a decision that represents their own interest. Cave mentions, “the conscious experience of deciding to act, which we usually associate with free will, appears to be an add-on, a post hoc reconstruction of events” CITATION Ste161 \l 1033 (Cave). The argument of the author claims that a free-will is almost non-existent because the society puts limitations on the people. They are constrained from taking actions that are against the essence of goodwill or welfare.

Story of an Hour

Kate Chopin in ‘Story of an Hour’ mentions, “it was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought”. The actions of humans are not the product of their own thoughts but is also the result of their social interaction and engagement with others. Chopin has used the concept of sameness for explaining how thoughts of humans are constrained. The author in the story claims that all human beings are more or less same. They act in same way to similar situations this undermines the role of free-will. Chopin further mentions, "Years to come that would belong to her absolutely". People in different situations lack freedom and are enforced to live the lives chosen by the society and peers. Chopin states, "there would be no one to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself. Choices are non-existent for women because they are also controlled by society.

Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain in ‘Huckleberry Finn’ states, “a man can’t get his rights in a government like this”. Free-will is also linked with freedom of rights but a common man is relying on the laws created by superior authority. Twain mentions. “mankind are so much the same, in all times and places”. Human beings are same because they are trained to act similarly. “Its chief use is only to discover the constant and universal principles of human nature”. The universal principles limits the free-will because humans are bound to differentiate between right and wrong.

The Gilded Age

Mark twain in ‘The Gilded Age’ states, “a woman's intuition is better than a man's”. Women face more constraints due to the social settings that reflects absence of freedom. She further claims, “this is not the golden age of mutual trust, of unlimited reliance upon human promises”. In this age people trust because they are taught to stay good to others. This indicates the role of social influences that control lives of people. This again indicates that people are lacking free-will. Twain mentions, “no country can be well governed unless its citizens as a body keep religiously before their minds”. This minds of citizens are not free entirely as they are controlled or influenced by the laws of state. This undermines the concept of free-will.

Work Cited

BIBLIOGRAPHY Cave, Stephen. There’s No Such Thing As Free Will . 2016. 29 07 2019 <https://www.richarddawkins.net/2016/05/theres-no-such-thing-as-free-will/>.

Twain, Mark. THE ADVENTURES OF THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERR HUCKLEBERRY FINN . 1884.

—. The Gilded Age. 1873.