So, what exactly is free will? Free will is defined as, “a free and independent decision; a voluntary decision” (free will, n.d.). Do individuals possess free will and are morally responsible for their actions, or is everything predetermined for them and thus are not responsible for actions committed? This essay will discuss free will as well as determine a possible answer for whether there is such a thing as free will and moral responsibility. For my argument, I believe since everyone has some form of moral responsibility, no one can have full possession of free will. This will be supported through ideas of consequentialism, incompatibilism, and examining human physiology, including neuroscience.
To begin discussing about free will, one has …show more content…
In Daniel Dennett’s paper, he presents Francis Crick’s evidence by showing that, “[an individual], [is] in fact no more than behaviour of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules … Although [they] appear to have free will, [their] choices have already been predetermined for [them] and [they] cannot change that” (Dennett, 2010, pg. 1). Through Crick’s discovery, it shows that even if someone decides to ‘choose’ what they are going to do or act, really their brain has already planned an action for them; therefore, they cannot fully harness free will. The brain acts in such a way as being a machine and containing ‘tiny robotic cells’ as Dennett explains, “[people] do have a soul – whatever it is that gives [them] free will and responsibility, that makes [them] moral agents – but it’s not an immaterial, immortal soul, it is a structure in [their] brains made of lots of tiny robots … working together in ways that are trained, adjusted, modulated by culture [people] stuff into [their] heads” (Dennett, 2010, pg. 6). Having this teamwork of cells makes it seem as though someone cannot control their own ideas and desires. With this network of ‘robotic’ cells, does anyone really have a free decision to what their ideas and thoughts are? Even though research has been proving neuroscience wrong, there are other physiological studies such as studying genetics. Geneticists are discovering many ways through physiology that are seemed to be linked with gene-environment interactions. For example, van Roekel et al (2013) found that girls with a specific oxytocin receptor gene felt lonelier in presence of judgemental friends when compared to girls without this gene. These results suggest that at least some of what
To begin discussing about free will, one has …show more content…
In Daniel Dennett’s paper, he presents Francis Crick’s evidence by showing that, “[an individual], [is] in fact no more than behaviour of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules … Although [they] appear to have free will, [their] choices have already been predetermined for [them] and [they] cannot change that” (Dennett, 2010, pg. 1). Through Crick’s discovery, it shows that even if someone decides to ‘choose’ what they are going to do or act, really their brain has already planned an action for them; therefore, they cannot fully harness free will. The brain acts in such a way as being a machine and containing ‘tiny robotic cells’ as Dennett explains, “[people] do have a soul – whatever it is that gives [them] free will and responsibility, that makes [them] moral agents – but it’s not an immaterial, immortal soul, it is a structure in [their] brains made of lots of tiny robots … working together in ways that are trained, adjusted, modulated by culture [people] stuff into [their] heads” (Dennett, 2010, pg. 6). Having this teamwork of cells makes it seem as though someone cannot control their own ideas and desires. With this network of ‘robotic’ cells, does anyone really have a free decision to what their ideas and thoughts are? Even though research has been proving neuroscience wrong, there are other physiological studies such as studying genetics. Geneticists are discovering many ways through physiology that are seemed to be linked with gene-environment interactions. For example, van Roekel et al (2013) found that girls with a specific oxytocin receptor gene felt lonelier in presence of judgemental friends when compared to girls without this gene. These results suggest that at least some of what