Introduction
This work discusses the hypothetical connection between authoritarianism and determinism. Firstly, it explains how Costello et al. (2019) described the concept of free will as “fatalistic determinism, scientific determinism, and unpredictability” (p. 7). Later authors discuss the first notions of this idea.
Escape from Freedom: Authoritarianism vs. Determinism
Erich Fromm proposed a similar idea back in 1941. He believed that all people want to deny freedom when they are in uncertain and dangerous situations. By denying freedom, Fromm meant the acceptance of authority. In a similar study, Adorno and his colleagues found that a people’s belief in fate might stimulate the approval of a particular ideology (Costello et al. 10). By escaping freedom, people may be leaning toward safety and a set of defined rules can alleviate the stress that they experience.
I learned that the paper’s authors studied communities to explore the connection. Each of them had a different sample size (Costello et al. 10). They wanted to see if certain personality traits could increase belief in authority. Despite the attempts of scientific studies, researchers still could not answer how to appropriately analyze views and certain personality features. Self-reports that were used in studies can lead to incorrect numbers (Costello et al. 37). The results of these debates are still unclear, and this question poses a philosophical problem. However, specific reports can help to clarify the topic. Researchers can observe people’s behavior from afar, measure the patterns and use meta-cognitive tasks. Still, the question is up to debate and requires further studies and different approaches.
Conclusion
The work explores how determinism can lead to the acceptance of authoritative parties and ideologies. While the studies show a particular connection exists, this question leads to further scientific and philosophical debates.
Work Cited
Costello, Thomas H, et al. “‘Escape from Freedom’: Authoritarianism-Related Traits, Political Ideology, Personality, and Belief in Free Will/Determinism.” Journal of Research in Personality, 2019, pp. 1–57.