The terrible case of the 2 young brothers who brutally tortured 2 other boys raises a very serious question regarding free will. The obvious, understandable reaction to cases such as this often along the lines of 'lock them up and throw away the key' or 'torture them and see how they like it'. While one can empathise with this view, especially in the case of the victim's families, the reality may not be that simple.
When we speak of justice or morality we normally require that someone be acting freely if we are to apportion blame. Looking at the background to this tragic case it appears that the 2 attackers have themselves been subject to abuse. Watching extremely violent and pornographic films, drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis, all under the age of 10.
To reject the concept of free will however has serious implications. What right do we have to punish people who do not freely choose their actions? Free Will is also a hugley important concept within Christain Theology, and to reject it would be unacceptable for many.
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The American lawyer Clarence Darrow used a determinist arguemt to save 2 teenage murderers from the death penalty in the famous Leopold Loeb case.So does your upbring determine the person you are?
If so, then how far are you really responsible for your own actions?
Would the attack have occurred had the boys had a more caring upbringing?
Hard Determinists argue that we are not free. Our genetic make up, upbringing and environment mean that we will inevitably make the coices we do.
Libertarians reject determinism, arguing we are free.
Compatiblists accept we are in someways determined but are morally free.
Read more about these ideas here.
Either there's no such thing as free will, or the God of the Judeo-Christian tradition doesn't exist. If god is all knowing, he must know our future actions, meaning something predetermined our choices and therefore the concept of free will is inapplicable. Either that or God doesn't know our future actions and we're free to make them, meaning he is ignorant to our future choices. And if he doesn't know our future actions, what else doesn't he know?
ReplyDeleteHow much free will do we really have? I made the choice to type this comment, but that choice was dependent on so many other factors out of my control, for example my parent buying me this computer, and having an internet connection, and the Theology teacher posting this blog, and me having been taught the english language and the abiltity the form sentences in it. What I'm trying to say is, the desire to type the comment didn't just pop into my conciousness.
Hmmmmmm.... I think that we do have the free will do do as we will, if you will and God does now our actions before we make them but he/she/it has given us the free will ni which to do it or not to do it.
ReplyDeleterelating this back to the lads it is my personal opinion that those lads no matter how bad there upbringing was they did know exactly what they were doing and you cannot just go soft on murders just because they had a bad upbringing, they should get the same punishment as everyone else would, which in the UK wouldnt be verymuch
Actually murder carries a mandatory life sentence in the UK... but the boys were not guilty of murder, of course.
ReplyDeleteThere are numerous attempts to make God's omniscience compatible with human freedom, A2 students should be familiar with these. One simple response is that knowledge of the future isn't necessarilly causal knowledge, eg, I know it is Friday tomorrow, but that knowledge does not make it Friday. If you think that's a bit too simplistic there are those, such as Boethius, who claimed God is Timeless, there is no past or future for God, just a constant present. If this were the case God would see what we consider to be out entire past and future as one constant present - God sees what you freely do tomorrow right now, just as he is also seeing what you freely did yesterday right now. Other argue God must be in time, in order to have a relationship with creation, and compare God to a very close friend who, because they know you so well, can accurately predict your future actions. All these responses raise further issues that I don't have time to go into here, but the issue of omniscience and free will is, as always seems to be the case, a rather complicated one.
ReplyDeleteMurder in the UK might have a "life Sentance" which i use very lightly because life is maximum of 25 years but you can be out in about 13 for good behavior, i think if we are to adopt anything from america is a propper criminal justice system with harsher penalties because only that will eather stop or drastically reduce problems like this
ReplyDeleteI do wonder that when the offence is very serious, like murder, if the punishment really makes a difference. Does one really think, 'I would stab you but I might get 12 years rather 8 so I won't'?
ReplyDeleteIn cases like the one above it seems like the motivation to commit the crime (what that might be) out weighs any potential punishment.
People still commit serious crimes in countries that have the death penalty.
This may be true but the rates of which the crimes are committed are lower then in countries that do not
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