Is Free Will Really Lost with Behavior Change?

What intrigues me most about A Clockwork Orange is the idea that free will is destroyed with classical and/or emotional conditioning. Before Alex received the treatment he found pleasure in violence and rape. Then, during conditioning, he was injected with a serum that made him sick while he watched violence. The result was that he felt sick around violence. Does that change make Alex lose his humanity?

Before Treatment Picture>

Behavioral Approach: Associating violent acts that Alex carries out with bad feelings is a step that he missed while he was developing. Completing the behavior change was necessary for Alex to be a contributing member of society.

Humanistic Approach: Alex’s core being was disturbed when he was physically no longer able to make the choices he wanted to. He had lost a part that makes him human.

Cognitive Approach: Alex is no less human after he receives treatment. It is simply another program installed in Alex that doesn’t allow his violent behavior to be expressed.

Psychodynamic Approach: Alex’s sexual and aggressive impulses are not repressed as much as most members in society. These biological instincts are put under control after the treatment matching him with the rest of society.

After Treatment Picture >

Everyone is predisposed to certain behavioral tendencies and Alex is no exception. Instead of being predisposed to societal norms he in predisposed to violence. However conditioning him against the violent behaviors does not make him a “clockwork orange” because he still maintains humanity. This is proven at the end when he still breaks away from the behavioral changes he had experienced through his treatment.