| Free will from the viewpoint of teleological behaviorism. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 17393402 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
A teleological and behavioral view is presented of the concept of free will. Free will is not something people essentially have or do not have. Instead, the following question is asked: Why does society find it useful to label some actions free and some actions not free? It is argued that the function of such labels is to aid in assigning responsibility to people for their actions. Responsibility in turn is useful in assigning rewards and punishments. The sort of actions that are typically seen as free are the same as those seen as self-controlled. Such actions are responsive to environmental contingencies of relatively wide temporal extent. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Howard Rachlin |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Behavioral sciences & the law Volume: 25 ISSN: 0735-3936 ISO Abbreviation: Behav Sci Law Publication Date: 2007 |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2007-04-04 Completed Date: 2007-06-26 Revised Date: 2007-12-03 |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 8404861 Medline TA: Behav Sci Law Country: United States |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 235-50 Citation Subset: IM |
Copyright Information:
|
Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
Affiliation:
|
Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA. howard.rachlin@sunysb.edu |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Behaviorism* Humans Liability, Legal Personal Autonomy* Social Responsibility United States |
| Grant Support | |
ID/Acronym/Agency:
|
2R01 MH 044049 16/MH/NIMH NIH HHS |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: The neuroscience of "free will".
Next Document: The non-problem of free will in forensic psychiatry and psychology.