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Paper Title

Free Will in Scientific Psychology

Keywords

  • Free Will
  • Scientific Psychology
  • Action Control
  • Self-Control
  • Rational Choice
  • Human Evolution
  • Cultural Functioning
  • Psychological Processes
  • Adaptive Behavior
  • Subjective Perception
  • Inner Process
  • Social Consequences
  • Biological Cost
  • Metaphysical Commitments
  • Human Behavior
  • Rationality

Article Type

Research Article

Research Impact Tools

Issue

Volume : 3 | Issue : 1 | Page No : 14-19

Published On

January, 2008

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Abstract

Some actions are freer than others, and the difference is palpably important in terms of inner process, subjective perception, and social consequences. Psychology can study the difference between freer and less free actions without making dubious metaphysical commitments. Human evolution seems to have created a relatively new, more complex form of action control that corresponds to popular notions of free will. It is marked by self-control and rational choice, both of which are highly adaptive, especially for functioning within culture. The processes that create these forms of free will may be biologically costly and therefore are only used occasionally, so that people are likely to remain only incompletely self-disciplined, virtuous, and rational.

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