tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13617569.post2442330240773876787..comments2024-03-27T02:13:58.088-07:00Comments on Integral Options Cafe: NPR - Can Genes And Brain Abnormalities Create Killers?william harrymanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06981478282688361274noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13617569.post-59517208636155376042010-07-14T12:29:46.348-07:002010-07-14T12:29:46.348-07:00Nagarjuna,
I would suppose that if it is determin...Nagarjuna,<br /><br />I would suppose that if it is determined [really, <i>pre</i>determined] that there is no free will and that everything is determined [really, <i>pre</i>determined], then people, indeed, should not be punished for their crimes, but locked out of the way of civil society for their asocial behaviors. <br /><br />But, then, this isn't something we have to think about, since whatever happens, happens.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13718601770472939313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13617569.post-73992485992891937242010-07-09T09:56:19.203-07:002010-07-09T09:56:19.203-07:00Bill, my question wasn't whether we have free ...Bill, my question wasn't whether we have free will but whether and how the legal system should be changed IF we DON'T have it. <br /><br />I agree that neuroscience likely "doesn't negate free will," because thoughts appear to control brains just as brains control thoughts. Yet, I would also contend that biological events in the brain and mental events in the mind are inevitable given the interrelated physical, biological, psychological, and sociocultural conditions out of which they arise. <br /><br />And if I'm correct, when people commit crimes, they were not "free" at that point in time to not commit those crimes. Given the individual-environment field they were at that time, they did what they had to do. And if I'm right, the legal system should perhaps be reformed to take this into account.<br /><br />One does not need to believe in God to believe in unfree will, unless, perhaps, one sees "God" as the All is One and One is allness of it all. What's more, a COMBINATION of biology and "circumstances" might well go far to explain the INEVITABLE difference between a Bill Clinton or Barack Obama on the one hand and a garden variety criminal on the other.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02549770321948541384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13617569.post-55964704401404262722010-07-08T07:28:34.129-07:002010-07-08T07:28:34.129-07:00Neuroscience does not negate free will. It shows t...Neuroscience does not negate free will. It shows tendencies and possibilities, but does not mandate them. <br /><br />Even circumstances are not destiny - see Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, poor kids from single parent families who somehow became President.<br /><br />If one believes in God or some other mythical being who plans out our lives or controls events, then yes, free will is an illusion.<br /><br />As yet, no one has even come close to proving the existence of a God, so I'm going to keep on being the agent of my own life.william harrymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06981478282688361274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13617569.post-45039921649672866612010-07-08T07:22:49.841-07:002010-07-08T07:22:49.841-07:00What if there is no "free will" and our ...What if there is no "free will" and our legal system is wrong to embrace it? What then?Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02549770321948541384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13617569.post-72688511055208038112010-07-07T11:47:39.997-07:002010-07-07T11:47:39.997-07:00Because biology is not destiny - this material may...Because biology is not destiny - this material may seem to eliminate notions of free will, but <b>legally</b> free will is essential to our system. Philosophically is another issue . . .william harrymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06981478282688361274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13617569.post-72284623801184917002010-07-07T11:42:30.425-07:002010-07-07T11:42:30.425-07:00If someone's "genetics and brain chemistr...If someone's "genetics and brain chemistry" "sets them up" to commit murder, how are they "responsible" for their crime?Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02549770321948541384noreply@blogger.com