What Could've Been
My first act of free will shall be to believe in free will.
~William James
Free Will and Morality1
There is an interesting question regarding whether or not human free will is required in order for the notion of moral responsibility to be intelligible.
Recently, some neuroscientists, including Robert Sapolsky and David Eagleman, have questioned whether the notion of moral blameworthiness really makes sense. These thinkers advocate for criminal justice reform.
Footnote
1. Any student interested in the problem of free will can refer to the following lessons from my PHIL 101 course:
- Lesson 2.1—Laplace's Demon, and
- Lesson 2.2—The Person and the Situation.
