WHEN ALL THINGS ARE PERMITTED:

Grand delusions: Why we're determined to be free (Dan Jones, 19 April 2011, New Scientist)

For now most of us are content to believe that we have control over our own lives, but what would happen if we lost our faith in free will? In recent years some psychologists have been trying to find out. In one study, Kathleen Vohs of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and Jonathan Schooler at the University of California, Santa Barbara, asked volunteers to read an excerpt from Francis Crick's book The Astonishing Hypothesis, which argues that "you are nothing but a pack of neurons", with your sense of free will a mere illusion, however persistent. After reading this passage, participants reported weaker belief in free will compared with those who hadn't read it. When given a mathematics test, which presented an opportunity to cheat seemingly without being detected, those whose belief in free will had been eroded were more likely to cheat (Psychological Science, vol 19, p 49).

Another example of the unsettling effects of shaking people's belief in free will comes from the work of Roy Baumeister of Florida State University, Tallahassee. His team asked participants to read either statements that bolstered belief in free will or ones that undermined it. For example: "I am able to override the genetic and environmental factors that sometimes influence my behaviour" versus "A belief in free will contradicts the known fact that the universe is governed by lawful principles of science". The volunteers were then asked how likely they would be to help another person in a range of scenarios, such as giving money to a homeless person or letting someone use their cellphone.

You guessed it: people whose belief in free will was challenged were, on average, less altruistic than the other group. The researchers also found that priming people with anti-free will statements made them behave more aggressively towards strangers, as measured by how much chilli sauce they added to a dish destined to be eaten by someone who had expressed a dislike of hot foods (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol 35, p 260).

We can hardly be surprised that folks hate morality so much they pretend to deny free will.

Posted by oj at April 22, 2011 5:43 PM
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