Free will argument

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An argument of free will ( Latin argumentum ad liberum arbitrium , English argument from free will ) is a rhetorical argument that invokes free will . The concept of free will is rejected by modern neurophysiology , especially because of the Libet experiment .

The question of whether there is free will is still being discussed today and has not been conclusively clarified from a scientific point of view.

Objections to free will

There are two main objections to free will:

  • The determinism objection states that if there is complete determinism, there is no free will either.
  • The random objection states that if there is no determinism, but stochastic processes predominate, there is no free will, since the decision is made randomly.

Quantum physical effects are often used as evidence of free will . However, this is only a pseudo-evidence , since in addition to stochastic interpretations of quantum physics with the De Broglie-Bohm theory, there is also a deterministic interpretation of quantum physics. From a quantum physics point of view, the two objections are therefore equivalent to each other.

In addition, the human brain can be viewed as a classic system. Although there are hypotheses that the brain is a quantum system, these have not been proven or disproved.

Further arguments for free will arise from religious or liberal moral convictions, as well as the illusion of control in order to uphold the concept of personal responsibility . However, due to the lack of a physical basis, these ideas are unproven.

Impact in criminal law

Arguments of free will occur, in spite of the lack of a scientific basis, especially in case law .

Neuroscientists therefore advocate the replacement of the relevant jurisprudence with scientifically founded criminal law, which is not based on guilt and punishment, but on danger and prevention.

Examples

  • “It was his free choice to drive drunk. I am not to blame because I only gave him the car key. "
  • "He could have asked instead of getting it wrong."
  • “Don't tell me how fast I can drive. It is my free decision to drive too fast! "

literature

  • Thomas Stompe, Hans Schanda: Free will and responsibility: in law, psychiatry and neuroscience . Medizinisch Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft (MWV), 2010, ISBN 978-3-941468-23-8 (246 pages).
  • Sam Harris : Free Will . Free Press, New York 2012, ISBN 978-1-4516-8340-0 (83 pages).

swell

  1. ↑ Stephan Schleim: The brain research and the fairy tale of the free will. In: Telepolis . Heise Verlag , May 29, 2008, accessed on May 23, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Jennifer Ouellette: A New Spin on the Quantum Brain. Quanta Magazine, November 2, 2016, accessed May 23, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Stephan Schleim: Are our legal norms really incompatible with the new scientific findings? In: Telepolis . Heise Verlag , August 28, 2007, accessed on May 23, 2017 .