On Free Will

Modern science ha: of late delved into the study of the brain. Despite our seeming wealth of knowledge concerning the organ that forms the center of our consciousness, until recently we had relatively little knowledge about the biological processes involved in our thoughts and actions. It is now conceivable that we can figure out the biological causes of psychopathic behavior for example. We can determine Biologically why a person turns into a serial killer. What effect will this hare on the criminal justice system?

More and more, science is leading us down the road towards biological determinism. We have long accepted this sort of argument in the case of animals we have long accepted such thinking. Instinct weare told governs the actions of animals. And survival of the fittest is the rule. Animals are competing for resources and act without free will.

But humans are supposed to be different. A relatively large part of the history of philosophy is devoted to studying free will, At the most we have been willing to accept divine determinism. Very few philosophers have been willing to ever entertain the idea of biological determinism. As human beings we want to think of ourselves as somehow different, and virtually every religious tradition, including Christianity include in their origin story something that sets human beings apart from the rest of creation. In the case of Christianity , we are created in the image of God.

So the idea of biological determinism is a very difficult one to live by. In Fact I would argue that it is impossible to exist and function on a daily basis as human being and believe that everything you do is predetermined by biological processes. Yet we accept this as fact on a practical level every day. Much of modern medicineis based on this view of our relationship with our brain.And we allow these views into the courtroom to explain criminal behavior. After all we wouldn't want to hold Someone responsible for killing another if they did it because there was a tumor growing in their brain.

So my question is this - as we continue to learn more and more about the brain and its functioning , how do we maintain a sense of personal responsibility? for, without the understanding that each individual is responsible for his or her own actions the social order will collapse.

This is a problem that is only going to grow starker as we discover more about the working of the brain. Pressure will grow to let criminals go for stranger and stranger reasons. We are already told often enough that we are not really responsible for bad decisions we make. We Must find a way to combine our new understanding of Biological processes with the knowledge we cannot deny, that we act and make decisions every day and that we can be held responsible for those actions.