`Not Guilty` by Robert Blatchford

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Not Guilty

Robert Blatchford 's (1913 ) argued that the point ' that the free will discussion turns on is whether or not man has a free choice . He noted that people do choose , but questioned what drives choice . The main point of his argument was that the will is not free and that it is ruled by heredity and environment (p .403 . He stated several examples to this effect . One such example was a marksman at target practice when a rabbit stops in his

path . The sportsman would shoot the rabbit Blatchford argued , while the humanitarian would not . They make these choices because of the conscious that they have (which they were born with , or their heredity ) and the things that they had been taught in their life (their environment , not because they had the will to choose one way or the other (p .403-4 . He provides similar examples , one being of an alcoholic . Blatchford claimed that the alcoholic cannot choose to not drink because the mind instinctively repeat[s] and action , but in the case of a drink , a physical craving is set up , and the brain is weakened .and it is very much harder for a man to keep sober who has frequently got drunk (p . 405 . Blatchford ultimately concludes that we should not blame someone for his or her conduct because the free will does not exist . While people can and do make choices , the choices are ruled by their heredity and environment , not a voice from God , not the willingness to do one over the other , but from what has been taught learned , and the conscious that one was born with

Reference

Blatchford , R . 1913 . Not Guilty . New York : Albert and Charles Boni Inc . pgs . 402-406

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