Free Will
My take on a question on Free will ?
How would you express in as simple a way as possible the arguments put forward in the following passage ?
“Experiments have shown that when a person believes that he or she is deciding to do something the brain has already made the decision some time before. What does this say about free will ? Free will is the basis of society. Religion and law are based on the exercise of free will. It is this exercise of free will which merits reward (in heaven) or punishment (in prison or in hell). Without the concept of free will society could not function.
'Quite apart from the experiments mentioned above, there is a feeling that upbringing, genes, hormones, chemicals in the brain, past experiences, role models, etc., all add up to pressures that forces someone to act in a certain way. So how free are we really ?
The argument described here takes both sides of the coin. On one hand it talks about our free will to do anything and on the other side how this free will comes because most of our actions are based on our environment. It is like chicken and egg argument, “Which came first” if we assume chicken first because chicken gives egg then we wonder how did the first chicken came ? Similar is with free will if we assume free will came first then environment will have no bearing on our behavior but there are numerous studies which buttress the claim that if a person is exposed to a right kind of environment their actions are markedly different. If we consider environment is the only factor then also there are equal number of studies which tell about individuals who pulled themselves out from the misery but exercising their free will.
That is one reason that today law is getting more and more cautious of the fact that upbringing, genes, hormones, chemical in the brain, past experiences, role models, etc., all make a personality. However in every person there is a deep yes and if the person is willing to listen to that he or she can make an unbiased decision but again this will be denying the fact that society doesn't conditions them. What I believe is that people who commit crime don't bother to ask their conscience they are driven too much by small things like jealousy, revenge and societal concerns. They don't try to put themselves into other's shoes and see the situation from their point of view. This is more like we humans are like Robots programmed from the environment and act according to those programs, This is also the basis of NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) which does successfully cures many of the ingrained habits
How would you express in as simple a way as possible the arguments put forward in the following passage ?
“Experiments have shown that when a person believes that he or she is deciding to do something the brain has already made the decision some time before. What does this say about free will ? Free will is the basis of society. Religion and law are based on the exercise of free will. It is this exercise of free will which merits reward (in heaven) or punishment (in prison or in hell). Without the concept of free will society could not function.
'Quite apart from the experiments mentioned above, there is a feeling that upbringing, genes, hormones, chemicals in the brain, past experiences, role models, etc., all add up to pressures that forces someone to act in a certain way. So how free are we really ?
The argument described here takes both sides of the coin. On one hand it talks about our free will to do anything and on the other side how this free will comes because most of our actions are based on our environment. It is like chicken and egg argument, “Which came first” if we assume chicken first because chicken gives egg then we wonder how did the first chicken came ? Similar is with free will if we assume free will came first then environment will have no bearing on our behavior but there are numerous studies which buttress the claim that if a person is exposed to a right kind of environment their actions are markedly different. If we consider environment is the only factor then also there are equal number of studies which tell about individuals who pulled themselves out from the misery but exercising their free will.
That is one reason that today law is getting more and more cautious of the fact that upbringing, genes, hormones, chemical in the brain, past experiences, role models, etc., all make a personality. However in every person there is a deep yes and if the person is willing to listen to that he or she can make an unbiased decision but again this will be denying the fact that society doesn't conditions them. What I believe is that people who commit crime don't bother to ask their conscience they are driven too much by small things like jealousy, revenge and societal concerns. They don't try to put themselves into other's shoes and see the situation from their point of view. This is more like we humans are like Robots programmed from the environment and act according to those programs, This is also the basis of NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) which does successfully cures many of the ingrained habits
posted by Sumant at 11:33 AM
1 Comments:
Our moral freedom, like other mental powers, is strengthened by exercise. The practice of yielding to impulse results in enfeebling self-control. The faculty of inhibiting pressing desires, of concentrating attention on more remote goods, of reinforcing the higher but less urgent motives, undergoes a kind of atrophy by disuse.
PEACE BE WITH YOU
MICKY
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