Free Will Doesn't Exist? Can Microbiology & External Stimulus Explain ALL Human Behaviors? Could Lawyers Use "No Free Will" As a Legal Defense? How Important Is This Debate?

The Best Paragraph I've Read: Before epilepsy was understood to be a neurological condition, people believed it was caused by the moon, or by phlegm in the brain. They condemned seizures as evidence of witchcraft or demonic possession, and killed or castrated sufferers to prevent them from passing tainted blood to a new generation. Today we know epilepsy is a disease. By and large, it’s accepted that a person who causes a fatal traffic accident while in the grip of a seizure should not be charged with murder. That’s good, says Stanford University neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky. That’s progress. But there's still a long way to go. After more than 40 years studying humans and other primates, Sapolsky has reached the conclusion that virtually all human behavior is as far beyond our conscious control as the convulsions of a seizure, the division of cells or the beating of our hearts. This means accepting that a man who shoots into a crowd has no more control over his fate than the victims who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It means treating drunk drivers who barrel into pedestrians just like drivers who suffer a sudden heart attack and veer out of their lane. The world is really screwed up and made much, much more unfair by the fact that we reward people and punish people for things they have no control over,” Sapolsky said. “We’ve got no free will. Stop attributing stuff to us that isn’t there.” This paragraph comes from the Los Angeles Times. The article is titled: "Stanford scientist, after decades of study, concludes: We don't have free will." The article is written by Corinne Purtill. You can read the full article here: https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2023-10-17/stanford-scientist-robert-sapolskys-decades-of-study-led-him-to-conclude-we-dont-have-free-will-determined-book Zac and Don discuss professor's claim that humans do not have free will. They wonder if this applies to the short and long term. They also wonder if this claim could impact future court cases. They also debate whether this is an important question to consider.