Neurophilosophy of Free Will: From Libertarian Illusions to a Concept of Natural Autonomy (Bradford Books) by Henrik Walter

Author:Henrik Walter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2009-10-02T08:53:00+00:00

Finally, a naturalistic version of alternativism is not only expedient to understanding free will, but also useful for understanding other issues and phenomena. It aids in explaining how genetics and environment cooperate in human development. If the instantiation of maxims were too rigid, namely if it followed only genetics, and were not sufficiently sensitive to influences (i.e., the instantiation of stable, nonchaotic attractors), then people would not be flexible enough for an ascription of responsibility to be justified. And if the environment had not provided for the instantiation of those maxims in the form of controllable chaos, then we would not be stable enough for the ascription of responsibility to be justified. Once again, observe, children. Parents know that in some situations children are not chaotic, but actually pretty predictable. By repeatedly confronting a child with a certain situation one can constantly provoke fear or joy. These behavioral patterns are genetically determined and presumably fixed in structures of the nervous system. They follow stable attractors. In this respect children are not "free," they are genetically committed in a way that the principle of strong causality is once again valid.26

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