Each of us has a self-perception of
uniqueness. It is built out of the
unique experiences we have had since birth that shape our identity as an individual,
a family member, a community member, a citizen of the nation we call our
country, and as a member of the species called Homo sapiens which differs genetically and psychologically from all
other species. This does not mean we do
not share lots of common understandings with others or with other cultures or with
other nationalities. Nor does it mean we
share nothing with other species. The reverse is true. We share more with those
species closest to us. Virtually all infants develop a sense of self that distinguishes
the world outside our bodies and the persons populating it as not the same as ourselves.
When we make choices we do not make them randomly. We are constrained by what we know. A child who has experienced a burn by
touching something hot will have an awareness to avoid doing that again. A child of the same age who has not experienced
that pain from a hot object may require more time to get that experience unless
that child is instructed by parents not to go near certain objects (like a fireplace). The more knowledge and experience we accumulate
the fewer are the random acts we make. The
knowledge does not have to be true. A person in a particular family may have an
intense exposure to something like a religion shared by the parents and the
child will believe what the parents say is true. There is nothing innate about
these attitudes. In order for a
community to function it has to have some shared beliefs. Most of us pick this
up at home, at school, and from religious instruction. In a secular society where religious practice
is optional, the bulk of shared values come from the neighborhood and from
school.
Societies hold the individual responsible
for acts that harm others or harm society. Children learn not to bully, not to
lie, not to cheat, and not to hurt others.
With rare exceptions children have learned these values at home, school,
or in church. Free will does not mean
that a child weighs carefully punching someone younger and weaker or stealing
from that other child. We often make
quick decisions without reflection on the consequences. We could argue that a person was destined to
act in an anti-social way but that does not exempt the person from punishment
if the act results in physical harm, theft, destruction of property, or some
other serious act that society defines as a criminal act. The measure of response depends on age, mental
aptitude, or circumstances unique to the situation. In an ideal society an informed
judge would assign the punishment. In
some societies there are fixed mandatory sentences. It
would be more accurate to say we act out of “constrained will” than out of “free
will.” Our psychological state evolves as we experience and learn more things
through aging and the circumstances that surround us. At the same time we are not determined to
behave in a certain way for any of our actions.
That is because what we may think appropriate one day may change some
weeks or years later. By the time we are
adults we have had millions of acts that have led to a sense of well being or
disappointment. We tend to avoid the
acts that disappoint us. We tend to repeat
the acts that work successfully for our own well being and for that of
society. As the person I call “me” or “I”
and that others call “Elof Carlson”, I recognize that what others call free
will is only a narrow range of all possible behaviors I have experienced because
the vast majority I have rejected if they harm others or if they lower my self
esteem.
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