by Sam Harris
as illusion, 5–6, 11, 22, 53
liberals and, 61
libertarianism and, 15–16, 74n
luck vs., 4, 38, 53, 54, 61–62
past actions and, 6, 39–40, 77n
rethinking justice system reliance on, 54, 56
retribution as dependent on sense of, 1
scientific validity lacking for, 6, 64–65
sense of agency and, 23–26
subjective validity lacking for, 6, 65
success and, 1
free will, sense of:
chance and, 27–28
conceptual understanding of self vs., 22–23
as felt experience, 15, 22–23, 26
moral responsibility as dependent on, 16–17, 23, 27
as mystery, 64–65
as resulting from ignorance of unconscious origins of intentions, 13, 32, 60
seen as necessary illusion, 45–47
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 8
Greene, Joshua, 73n–74n
hating, free will and, 53–54
Hayes, Steven, 1–4
Heisenberg, Martin, 27
Holocaust, 57
illusion:
free will as, 5–6, 11, 22
necessary, sense of free will seen as, 45–47
incarceration, of criminals, 53, 54, 58
intentions:
as appearing but not originating in consciousness, 8
brain activity as preceding consciousness of, 8–11
as causal brain state, 34 to do harm, 52–53
external and internal restraints on, 41–42
as product of prior events, 5–6, 19–20, 34, 60
soul and, 12
subjective mystery of, 13, 37–38, 39–40
unconscious origins of, 7–14
see also actions; choice ion channels, 27
justice system:
and distinction between voluntary and involuntary actions, 31, 56
free will as basis of, 1, 23, 48
rethinking of reliance on free will, 54, 56
retribution and, 1, 48, 56
Komisarjevsky, Joshua, 1–4
laws of nature, 40
brain as subject to, 11–12
laziness, 62
liberals, free will and, 61
libertarianism, 15–16, 74n
Libet, Benjamin, 8, 73n
luck:
free will vs., 4, 38, 53, 54, 61–62
moral responsibility and, 54
see also chance
materialism, 11, 74n
meaning, of actions, freedom to reinterpret, 40
medial prefrontal cortex, 50, 58
Meditations on Violence (Miller), 43–44
Miller, Rory, 43–44
moral responsibility, 48–60
and brain disorders, 50, 51, 53–54, 55–56
compatibilism and, 18
of criminals, 3
degrees of, 49–52
as dependent on sense of free will, 16–17, 23, 27
determination of, as dependent on overall complexion of mind, 49
determinism and, 48–49
and distinction between voluntary and involuntary actions, 31, 41–42
and fear of retribution, 58–59
luck and, 54
murder, 3–4, 12–13, 17, 18, 55, 57
mystery:
origins of intentions as, 13, 37–38, 39–40
sense of free will as, 64–65
Nahmias, Eddy, 41–42
neuroimaging, 8–11, 24, 69n–72n
neurophysiology, seen as part of the self, 20–22, 75n
New Guinea, 57
New Yorker, 57
New York Times, 41–42
past actions, free will and, 6, 39–40, 77n
Petit, Hayley, 2–3
Petit, Jennifer, 2–3
Petit, Michaela, 2–3
Petit, William, 2–3
philosophical materialism, 11, 74n
philosophy, free will and, see compatibilism; determinism; libertarianism
politics, 61–63
priming, 69n
psychopaths, 51
punishment, see retribution
quantum indeterminacy, 27, 29–30
rape, 3, 17, 46
rehabilitation, of criminals, 56, 58
religion, 18, 56
retribution:
as dependent on sense of free will, 1
as deterrent, 58–59
human need for, 57–58
justice system and, 1, 48
religion and, 56
as resulting from ignorance of underlying causes of behavior, 55
Schopenhauer, Arthur, 75n–76n
self, seen as comprising both conscious and unconscious processes, 20–22, 75n
sensory feedback, consciousness and, 73n
sin, 48, 56
soul, 56
intentions and, 12
libertarianism and, 16
stimuli, subliminal presentation of, 70n–71n
stories, as explanation of choices, 35, 37, 43–44
Strawson, Galen, 74n, 75n
success, free will and, 1
Supreme Court, U.S., 48
synaptic vesicles, 27
theology, 18, 56
unconscious, seen as part of the self, 20–22, 75n
United States v. Grayson, 48
violence, degrees of moral responsibility for, 49–52
volition, see choice
Walter, W. Grey, 74n–75n
Wegner, Daniel, 60
will, see free will; intentions
working memory, consciousness as dependent on, 72n
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sam Harris is the author of the bestselling books The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, and Lying. The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Non-fiction. His writing has been published in more than 15 languages. Dr. Harris and his work have been discussed in The New York Times, Scientific American, Nature, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, Time, and many other publications. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Times (London), the Boston Globe, The Atlantic, Newsweek, the Annals of Neurology, and elsewhere. Dr. Harris is a cofounder and the CEO of Project Reason, a nonprofit foundation devoted to spreading scientific knowledge and secular values in society. He received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA. Please visit his website at www.samharris.org.
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