Hi Ian, Ian: > I am at a loss to understand how you are separating free-will from > responsibility (at any level, common sense, science, MoQ or > metaphysical in general).
Steve: This is link is not a logical necessity because even if we accept for the sake of argument that determinism is true, we would have to imprison people who demonstrate the will to harm others. This desire to harm others is morally blameworthy even if the one who holds this desire holds it for reasons completely outside of the control of his consciousness. If society dropped the idea of free will, it would still need to carry out punishments of some criminals _because_ such actions have predictable effects on criminals. If we think that punishments will modify the behavior of criminals, we don't withhold them because we think that criminals have the "free will" to prevent the modification of their behavior. The reason we have the greatest concern for intentions is because intentional behavior is often modifiable while unintended behavior is generally less so. By the way, Ian, if you are interested in what modern brain science has to say on the subject of free will you should check out David Eagleman's book "Incognito." It is a fascinating read. Best, Steve Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
