free will is the idea that we are free to make whatever choices we want
from things as simple as clicking this video to more complex ones by choosing a political party
we decide what to do and when to do
but what if free will is just an illusion
this is a serious question
because if we aren't in control
then we can't be held accountable for actions
any actions from cheating to domestic violence
well, this is the exact issued a neuroscience brings up
see, neuroscientists are finding out that our mind, thoughts
and ideas can all be traced back to the brains neural workings
to them
you like a supercomputer
with your brain being the main processing in charge for everything
but the problem is our brain is running of the predetermined set the rules
this is because your brain is shaped by two things
genetics and environmental factors
now you can't control your genetic makeup
you're also stuck with whatever the environment you born into
further more
the neural activities in the brain which give rise to thoughts are governed by laws of physics
you can't control these laws
any more than the law of gravity
so if you can't control the decision making process
how can control your decisions
now the first thing you my retort with this:
"I can proof free will exists by moving my hand whenever I want to"
it does seem that free will isn't to intuitive to be false
Fried but consider this study by neuroscientist doctor Fried
he asked subjects to simply press a button whenever they want to do
now this choice seems like pure free will, right?
Fried but Dr. Fried was observing this signals
coming from the part of the brain involved in plan moving Fried
the results were surprising
turns out
before the idea to press the button even came into the subject's mind
he could predict exactly when they would press the button
based off the rising levels with neural activity
this suggests that our subconscious brain is already decided before we even conscious aware
we have been tricked into believing we control our lives
when in reality we were only hopeless observances
now to some degree
you really understand that your free will is limited
just imagine a murderer being put on trial
if it turned out he had a tumour in his brain
which made him mentally insane
you will be more forgiving, right?
you blame on the tumour not the person
well this argument is just the logical conclusion
take the extreme case of
psychopath Uday Hussein, son of Saddam Hussein
to give you a taste of his evils
this man has been known to crash wedding parties to rape
torture and killed the bride to be
in one case
there were acid burns left on the victim's face, with clumps of peeled flesh left behind
now I'm not saying Uday isn't a monster
but consider this:
fMRI fMRI scans show that psychopaths' brains are fundamentally different
normally if you present a person within the emotional picture
such as a person getting hurt
the parts of the brain responsible for a emotion and empathy light up
if you present the same image to a psychopath
they understand what's going on
but these emotion related areas do not light up
and they don't feel anything
so while it's confronting
can you really say it's Uday's fault that his brain was wrongly wired :
in fact in Uday's horrifying upbringing
5 at the age of 5
he went with his father to witness a live execution
10 at 10
he was showing videos of Saddam's enemies being tortured
just imagine these culture and family pressures he grew up in
I guaranteed if you grew up in such an environment
you'll be just messed up
now I'm not saying he should be sent to jail
society would be safe without him
but the idea of punishing Uday as a form of revenge is wrong
because he isn't to blame
so this idea challenges the fundamentals of legal system in morality
currently
we harshly condemned criminals from murderous to pedophiles
but in reality
they've just had unfortunate circumstances
whether it's the genetics or a bad upbringing
however
I suggest that perhaps this is a better way of looking at things
we always so quick to blame people without thinking about the context they are in
we blame drug addicts for lacking discipline
depressed people for being too weak
and criminals for doing unforgivable acts
but the truth is
if we were in the exact positions
and somehow switch brains with them
we would be the same too
in the end
I knew the illusion of free will is so strong
that we will still we are free anyway
but if you give up on the ideal free will just a little bit
it is an opportunity practice empathy and patients with others
and that is definitely something we need more of