“My Culture Made Me Do It”1 Rosen, Lawrence
Current anthropology,
02/2024, Letnik:
65, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
At the core of many legal cases involving cultural background is the question of an individual’s freedom to act contrary to the norms of his or her culture. Particularly in criminal cases the ...question is: Shall the individual, raised in a given culture, be seen as possessing unrestricted free will? Alternatively, are individuals essentially limited in their choices by their culture or forced to choose between cultural attachment and cultural alienation? When experts testify as to cultural context, what theories of free will versus cultural constraint do they exemplify? How do anthropologists’ theories square with those of psychologists, geneticists, or neuroscientists addressing the same issues? In the absence of expert guidance, what assumptions do courts bring to bear on the relation of culture to free will? By looking at the approaches anthropologists have taken to these questions, we can initiate a much-needed conversation about the dilemma an expert faces in court when confronted with issues of free will.
Following a corporate disaster such as bankruptcy, people in general and damaged parties, in particular, want to know what happened and whether the company's directors are to blame. The accurate ...assessment of directors’ liability can be jeopardized by having to judge in hindsight with full knowledge of the adverse outcome. The present study investigates whether professional legal investigators such as judges and lawyers are affected by hindsight bias and outcome bias when evaluating directors’ conduct in a bankruptcy case. Additionally, to advance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these biases, we also examine whether free will beliefs can predict susceptibility to hindsight bias and outcome bias in this context. In two studies (total N = 1,729), we demonstrate that legal professionals tend to judge a director's actions more negatively and perceive bankruptcy as more foreseeable in hindsight than in foresight and that these effects are significantly stronger for those who endorse the notion that humans have free will. This contribution is particularly timely considering the many companies that are currently going bankrupt or are facing bankruptcy amidst the COVID‐19 pandemic.
In this study, we tested the relationship between personal agency beliefs, represented by free will, scientific and fatalistic determinism and unpredictability, and epistemically suspect beliefs ...(ESBs), including conspiracy, paranormal, and pseudoscience beliefs, across two different cultures (Türkiye and the UK). In two preregistered studies (NStudy 1 = 682, NStudy 2 = 532), we proposed and found correlational evidence for the idea that although seemingly contradictory, both forms of determinism—scientific and fatalistic—might lead individuals to feel a reduced control over their actions, prompting them towards simpler explanations offered by ESBs, thereby compensating for a diminished sense of agency. The relationship between free will, unpredictability, and ESBs varied by culture, likely influenced by the cultural interpretation of those beliefs. Our results underscore the link between personal agency and ESBs, suggesting that ESBs may act as a safeguard against eroding personal agency.
•Examined the relationship between agency beliefs and epistemically suspect beliefs (ESB).•Conducted two studies on samples from Türkiye and the UK.•Found significant associations between both fatalistic and scientific determinism with ESB.•Revealed mixed findings on the correlation between free will and unpredictability beliefs with ESB.
Can belief in free will alter our perceptions of social mobility? Five studies manipulated free will beliefs and assessed subjective individual social mobility (Study 1), subjective social status ...across time (Study 2), objective social class 10 years (Study 3) and 20 years (Study 4) into the future, and counterbalanced subjective and objective social mobility measures (Study 5). Challenging free will beliefs reduced subjective perceptions of upward mobility in Study 1 and led to lower perceptions of subjective social status in the distant, but not in near future in Study 2. Studies 3 and 4 found that threatening free will beliefs did not influence perceptions of future objective social class. Study 5 revealed that weakening free will beliefs affected subjective and objective social mobility, with the latter under specific boundary conditions. The differential effects of belief in free will on perceived social mobility are discussed.
El artículo reflexiona sobre el recelo moderno respecto de Dios como amenaza para la libertad humana. La doctrina sobre la relación entre la libertad y la gracia sostenida por el teólogo español Luis ...de Molina presenta algunos rasgos que podrían estar emparentados con dicho recelo. La providencia divina resulta salvada en su sistema mediante una concepción algo determinista de la psique humana. Así, no se preserva del todo la libertad, pero, sin embargo, se introduce cierta sospecha respecto del poder de Dios. El autor propone empero una reflexión tomista como una alternativa para contemplar la relación entre Dios y hombre en armonía.
•Direct comparison of all currently existing free will scales.•Creation of a short, 5-item free will scale.•Additional evidence free will attitudes predict real-world behavioral intentions.
...Theoretically, attitudes about freedom and punishment can shape people’s decisions and cause pernicious disagreements (e.g., political policies). Several scales measure free will beliefs, partially to help understand disagreements about theoretical and practical issues. We contribute to these efforts by directly comparing existing measures and by introducing a short measure of free will related attitudes. Studies 1, 2, and 3 (Ns = 221, 225, 244) factor analyzed all items in existing scales of free will and moral responsibility, resulting in two prominent factors: Beliefs in Free Will and Beliefs in Punishment. Study 4 (N = 269) presents evidence for the 2-factor structure from a nationally representative sample. Study 5 (N = 108) gives evidence of the utility of the Free Will and Punishment scale in predicting free will relevant beliefs and attitudes. As such, the Free Will and Punishment scale is likely useful when longer instruments are not practically possible.
Foundations of a Free Societybrings together some of the most knowledgeable Ayn Rand scholars and proponents of her philosophy, as well as notable critics, putting them in conversation with other ...intellectuals who also see themselves as defenders of capitalism and individual liberty. United by the view that there is something importantly right-though perhaps also much wrong-in Rand's political philosophy, contributors reflect on her views with the hope of furthering our understandings of what sort of society is best and why. The volume provides a robust elaboration and defense of the foundation of Rand's political philosophy in the principle that force paralyzes and negates the functioning of reason; it offers an in-depth scholarly discussion of Rand's view on the nature of individual rights and the role of government in defending them; it deals extensively with the similarities and differences between Rand's thought and the libertarian tradition (to which she is often assimilated) and objections to her positions arising from this tradition; it explores Rand's relation to the classical liberal tradition, specifically with regard to her defense of freedom of the intellect; and it discusses her views on the free market, with special attention to the relation between these views and those of the Austrian school of economics.
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