Quotes 10-29-2013
by Miles Raymer
“If we had kissed, it would have been the miracle to make us human in each other’s eyes. Instead we killed each other.”
––Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card, pg. 322
“The compatibilist acknowledges that our actions have to be caused, and that they are limited or channeled by physical, biological, and psychological constraints. But the compatibilist claims that this is the kind of free will ‘worth wanting,’ in the phrase of Daniel Dennett. No magical hand-waving here, invoking a free will that cannot be, nor the simplistic, existentialist-like rejection of the reality of being human. Quite simply, free will is in this sense our (demonstrable) ability to consider information, balance it against our desires, and take a particular course of action among several available to us. Of course, our desires are themselves the result of our upbringing, our genetic constitution, our experiences in life. How could it be otherwise? And of course, our way of reasoning is also the result of all those things. Again, what would it mean if that were not the case? So compatibilism is a compromise between the undeniable fact that we are a particular type of biological being, with all that entails, and our sense that we own our decisions and can therefore––within limits––be held responsible for them or praised for them.”
––Answers for Aristotle, by Massimo Pigliucci, pg. 140
This quote raises a lot of interesting questions re: to what degree, if any, we are free agents and to what degree can we be held accountable for our actions.. Of course, determined or not, people must be held accountable for their actions b/c we are social beings and this is how we survive. So yes we can hold others accountable for their actions but for practical and pragmatic reasons and in degrees. Of course, from a purely Just sense we can only shake our heads at any given action and perhaps say, we understand that ultimately none of us are free at all and there is no real justice in punishing one for a particular action b/c the person could not have done otherwise given all the variables or causes for an action. I will be interested in seeing how these ideas play out in society as neuroscience teaches us more about how our brains make choices.
I agree! It will indeed be a fascinating process to watch, especially when you consider the potential for revamping our scientifically archaic justice system.