Abstract
We have looked at evidence that our genes and experiences can powerfully influence our behaviour, sometimes without our realizing it. In this chapter we are going to consider a more radical claim, not that our behaviour might be determined but that it must be. This claim is based on two assumptions:
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Our brains control our behaviour.
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As with any biological system, the brain’s operations obey the laws of physics and are thus entirely lawful.
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Notes
Whitman, Charles, ‘Whitman letter’, The Whitman Archives. Austin American-Statesman, 31 July 1966.
Whitman, Charles, ‘Whitman note left with mother’s body, The Whitman Archives. Austin American-Statesman, 1 August 1966.
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© 2016 David A. Lieberman
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Lieberman, D.A. (2016). Behaviour Must Be Lawful. In: The Case Against Free Will. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137345257_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137345257_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-57449-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-34525-7
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