Free Will Case Study

Free will deals with humans having choices or the power to choose. According to Stace, free acts must be those whose immediate causes are psychological states in the agent; while acts not freely done are those whose immediate causes are states of affairs external to the agent. Therefore, given the case scenario of Tracy, a girl who suffers from Trichotillomania and therefore pulls her hair out, the psychological agent could be interpreted as the impulse disorder which is characterized by the compulsive urge to pull out one's hair, leading to noticeable hair loss and balding, distress and functional or social impairment. By definition, this condition is self-induced; as it deals with an increasing sense of tension before pulling the hair and

There is some controversy over whether these are automatic, trance-like actions that fall under the subconscious level, or if they are consciously engaged in and even focused actions. Stace would seem to note the case as debatable over verbal issues of the definition of ‘free will’ as applied in this particular case. According to Walter Stace, free acts must be those whose immediate causes are psychological states in the agent; while acts not freely done are those whose immediate causes are states of affairs external to the agent. Therefore, Stace would consider whether Tracy’s hair-pulling is caused by an external agent, so depending how that is defined, would decide if she exercises free will. With that being said, it is in fact based on freewill because it is the individual’s decision, and every individual is capable of controlling their emotions and physical

It might be argued that she does this of her own free will, that nobody is forcing her to do this. Walter Stace might argue the question of whether Tracy pulls out her hair of her own free will with saying it has to do with language and how one defines ‘free will’. He could say that Tracy was born with a condition over which she has no real control, since it is a health condition that deals with impulse control. He would say she can’t help it if she suffers from this condition which was predetermined to be part of her DNA blueprint. However, he would argue that she still has a moral responsibility because of having free will, so she is not off-the-hook with this internal force that compels her to pull out her hair. Harry Frankfurt, in looking at this case with Tracy pulling her hair out, would say that there is free will only if Tracy wills to do something and it is not forced, and he would hold her morally responsible only if there was an alternative choice for Tracy. Since behavior modification therapy might help Tracy to control this condition that causes her to pull out her hair, Frankfurt might say that she is not morally responsible so long as the impulse control fails her and she had no other alternative. It comes down to a question of coercion; whether the medical condition coerced Tracy to pull out her hair, even