Determinism and free will: review of the literature.
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.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D004532:Ego; D005086:Existentialism; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D009014:Morals; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012945:Social Values; D014836:Volition