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Chapter 3 - Free Will Skepticism and Its Implications: An Argument for Optimism

from Part I - On the Practical Implications of Free Will Skepticism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2019

By
Gregg D. Caruso
Edited by
Elizabeth Shaw ,
Derk Pereboom  and
Gregg D. Caruso
Elizabeth Shaw
Affiliation:
University of Aberdeen
Derk Pereboom
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Gregg D. Caruso
Affiliation:
Corning Community College, State University of New York
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Summary

This chapter considers the practical implications of free will skepticism and discusses recent empirical work that has just begun to investigate the matter. It argues that there are good philosophical and empirical reasons for thinking that belief in free will, rather than providing the pragmatic benefits many claim, actually has a dark side; i.e., it is too often used to justify punitive excess in criminal justice, to encourage treating people in severe and demeaning ways, and to excuse and perpetuate social and economic inequalities. After addressing recent empirical findings in social psychology that purport to show that diminishing one’s belief in free will increases antisocial behavior – findings that are overblown and questionable – the chapter discusses contrary findings in moral and political psychology that reveal interesting and troubling correlations between people’s free will beliefs and their other moral, religious, and political beliefs. It concludes that we would be better off without the notions of free will and just deserts.

Keywords

free willfree will skepticismpunishmentquarantinepublic healthbasic desertjust desertsmoral responsibilityjust world beliefright wing authoritarianismcriminal lawcriminal justiceexperimental philosophyretributivismretributive punishmentcrime
Type
Chapter
Information
Free Will Skepticism in Law and Society
Challenging Retributive Justice
 , pp. 43 - 72
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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