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Neglected Psychological Elements of Free Will
- Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 11, Number 2, June 2004
- pp. 111-118
- 10.1353/ppp.2004.0057
- Article
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Two essential elements of free will—internal locus of control and confident self-efficacy—have been studied extensively by psychologists but neglected by philosophers. As a result of this neglect, philosophers have worked with a distorted view of free will. Existentialists exaggerate internal locus of control while undercutting self-efficacy; most contemporary philosophers have taken both internal locus of control and self-efficacy for granted, ignoring their importance and the problems generated by their absence. By taking advantage of psychological research on internal locus of control and self-efficacy, this paper develops a richer and more realistic account of the value of free choice and the real threats to free will.