Free-Will Under Challenge By Neuroscience

This assumes that we can freely choose between right and wrong, eg Christian notion of righteousness or moral liberty (the capacity to discern and pursue the good, instead of merely being compelled by appetites and desires). We can overcome our circumstances and genes to become the authors of our own destiny.

The concept of free will is one of the pillars of Western society and permeates many aspects of our lives like criminal law, welfare provisions, popular culture, etc. It assumes that no matter what your start in life is, you have the choice as to how you handle it.

Yet fields like neuroscience are challenging this belief. There is evidence to suggest that the ability to determine our fate is not free. It is based on biological inheritance and how our brains function. This has added to the debate on nature (genes) v nurture (environment).  The firing of neurons in our brain determines our thoughts, hopes, memories and dreams. Changes in brain chemistry can alter our behaviour, eg impact of drugs like alcohol, anti-depressants, etc. There have been cases of individuals developing brain tumours that have drastically changed their behaviour.

Research has shown that electrical impulses build up in the brain before the person consciously makes a decision
"...the conscious experience of deciding to act, which we usually associate with free will, appears to be an add-on, a post hoc reconstruction of events that occurred after the brain has already set the action in motion......to think of ourselves as shaped by influences beyond our control..."
Stephen Cave, 2016

This type of approach has been used in court cases by defendants arguing that their brain made them do it!!!!!
This is sometimes called "determinism", ie we are not responsible for our actions and our decisions are part of an unbreakable chain of cause and effect.  Free will becomes a delusion.

Neuroscience suggests that the brain is more accurately described as a physical system, like the heart, which we have little control over, ie
"...human behaviour is one of neurons firing, causing other neurons to fire, causing our thoughts and deeds, in an unbroken chain which stretches back to our birth and beyond.  In principle, we are therefore completely predictable. If  we could understand any individual's brain architecture and chemistry well enough, we could, in theory, predict that individual's response to any given stimulus with 100% accuracy..."
Stephen Cave, 2016

Research has shown that people who believe less in free will are more likely to behave immorally, ie not responsible for their actions.  On the other hand, belief in free will is a better predictor of performance (job and academic) than traditional measures like work ethic, IQ, etc.  Furthermore, believers in free will are more likely to volunteer their services and/or give money to the community. Other studies have shown that a diminishing belief in free will increase stress, unhappiness and less commitment to relationships, less sense of life's meaningfulness, etc

Those believing less in free will are less creative, more likely to conform, less willing to learn from their mistakes and less grateful towards each other.

If free will is an illusion, this has large social and psychological consequences, ie people are not to be blamed for actions as they are beyond our control, etc. This will weaken our morals, our ethical standards, our ideals, our motivation and our sense of the meaningfulness of life. To stop bad behaviour we need to change the brain.