Determinism and Victim Mentalities

While this is not a topic that will come up in most presidential debates, this ideology is core to the worldviews that shape the leaders who shape the direction of our nation.

Ivan Pavlov is know for his ground breaking work on Classical Conditioning. He also won the Nobel prize in 1904. Pavlov observed that the actual physiology of a dog's digestive system could be altered by associating the noise from ringing a bell with feedings.

Later, B.F. Skinner revolutionized the world of behavioral science by applying Pavlov's conditioning model to behavioral studies. He noted that behavior is programmed mostly by environment and positive or negative reinforcements. Skinner is the champion of the modern Liberal mind.

Skinner is considered history's foremost thinker when it comes to behavioralism which gives birth to determinism.

Determinism, like behavioralism, asserts that all human behavior is a product of environmental factors. If a person commits a gratuitous and violent murder, he did so because of the negative influences in his life. There is no such thing as good and evil according to this ideology, only "sick" and "healthy." There is no personal accountability, only "environmental factors."

Determinists mostly see environmental causes in societal ills. If a woman has six kids by five fathers, and is pregnant with the seventh, the determinist sees the culprit of her predicament as learned behavior instead of solely poor decision making.

As many understand, this type of thinking completely diminishes the idea of personal accountability. It only follows that if a person cannot reasonably be held accountable for their actions, and their actions can be harmful to themselves and others, then someone/something needs to step in as caretaker and nanny. Given this natural pattern of logic, and given the liberals belief that the government is the best vehicle for societal advancement, then it only makes sense to a liberal that the government fulfill that role as guardian/caretaker/nanny; who, with lots of our money, can help improve environmental conditions so people will be less likely to exhibit destructive behavior .

Noted liberal philosopher and linguistics professor at MIT, Noam Chomsky, with whom I very seldom agree, correctly noted in his critique of Skinner's work, that the natural progression of the Determinists/Naturalists thinking is a totalitarian state.

Conservatives instinctively see the power of human potential. We are strong proponents of personal accountability. We believe that Humans are created in the image of God and are more than just the sum of their experiences. We revere people who rise from circumstances that provide for a poor environment, and achieve greatness.

We don't tell people they are victims. We encourage people to take control of their own life. We believe the first step to doing this is learning to become personally accountable for the missteps and poor decisions we've made, and learn that if we controlled our failure, we can also control our success.