UNDERSTANDING THE FREEWILL FRONTIER: CREATING A MORE JUST ETHICS SYSTEM

• Published in: The Journal of law in society Vol. 23; no. 2; p. 250
• Main Author: Young, Christopher
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Journal of Law in Society 22-12-2023
• Subjects: Decision-making; Epigenetic inheritance; Ethical aspects; Evaluation; Free will and determinism; Neurosciences; Normativity (Ethics); Psychological aspects; Rawls, John; Social ethics; Social sciences and ethics
• ISSN: 1538-5876

This article addresses the gap in the research in normative ethics. The primary question in this research is, how and to what extent do discoveries from neuroscience, genetics and epigenetics alter the historical definition of free will? The literature review provides a historical and definitional assessment of free will, while exploring the various scientific discoveries which challenge it. It is also discovered that there is some interactive effect between a person's environment and their epigenetics, suggesting that harmful environments may negatively impact future generations of people from the same genetic lineage. It is proposed here that decision-making, virtue theory, free will, and social justice must be considered in a uniform framework that can be used to assist in teaching normative Ethics. It is also suggested that people born with good genetics have a better chance of making ethical decisions, and developing good habits, when compared to others raised in not so nurturing environments, and who are genetically predisposed to certain actions. This paper attempts to explain how best to consider and implement the new scientific discoveries in neuroscience, which assumes that a libertarian free will exists despite the continued advances in understanding the interaction of the brain and consciousness, in foundational discussions on normative ethical ethics and its downstream impact on social justice. The idea of creating virtuous agents must go further and push past the idea that ethics can be taught in the classroom, home, or judicial system.