(October 1, 2022 at 9:26 am)bennyboy Wrote: On a side note with regarding to free will-- it doesn't matter too much, because it's the whole human system, not just criminals. Philosophies adopted, mores evolved, punishments meted out-- these would ALL be deterministic.
It's a nice little free pass for anyone who wants it, not just criminals-- "Well, if we hang him by his balls and slit his throat-- that's always what we were gonna do. So let's do it."
Yes, it is all pretty much deterministic, but knowing that truth can change our way of thinking, perhaps, and make us for more humane treatment of criminals. Would we torture a bear for killing? No. Then we probably shouldn't torture anyone. Lack of free will is not really a case for giving people voting rights, however, as you could just say that the criminals have defective brains and therefore they shouldn't vote, and that would be a decent argument, but still one that I would disagree with. And we're not giving anyone a free pass as in saying they shouldn't be separated from society if they are a threat to it. If they are a threat, society needs to be protected of course, but that doesn't mean we can't still try to be as moral as possible and not sink to the level of the criminals actions that got them there. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
