Freedom Evolves

Infobox Book
name = Freedom Evolves
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image_caption = 1st edition cover
author = Daniel C. Dennett
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subject = Free will
genre = Science, Philosophy
publisher = Viking Books
release_date = February 2003
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isbn = ISBN 0-670-03186-0
preceded_by = Brainchildren: Essays on Designing Minds
followed_by =

"Freedom Evolves" is a 2003 popular science and philosophy book by Daniel C. Dennett. Dennett describes the book as an installment of a life-long philosophical project, earlier parts of which were "The Intentional Stance", "Consciousness Explained" and "Elbow Room". It attempts to give an account of free will and moral responsibility which is complementary to Dennett's other views on consciousness and personhood.

Synopsis

As in "Consciousness Explained", Dennett advertises the controversial nature of his views extensively in advance. He expects hostility from those who fear that a skeptical analysis of freedom will undermine people's belief in the reality of moral considerations; he likens himself to an interfering crow who insists on telling Dumbo he doesn't really need the feather he believes is allowing him to fly.

Free will and altruism

Dennett's stance on free will is compatibilism with an evolutionary twist – the view that, although in the strict physical sense our actions are pre-determined, we can still be free in all the ways that matter, because of the abilities we evolved. Free will, seen this way, is about freedom to make decisions without duress, as opposed to an impossible and unnecessary freedom from causality itself. To clarify this distinction, he coins the term 'evitability' as the opposite of 'inevitability', defining it as the ability of an agent to anticipate likely consequences and act to avoid undesirable ones. Evitability is entirely compatible with, and actually requires, human action being deterministic.Dennett moves on to altruism, denying that it requires acting to the benefit of others without gaining any benefit yourself. He argues that it should be understood in terms of helping yourself by helping others, expanding the self to be more inclusive as opposed to being selfless. To show this blend, he calls such actions 'benselfish', and finds the roots of our capacity for this in the evolutionary pressures that produced kin selection. In his treatment of both free will and altruism, he starts by showing why we should not accept the traditional definitions of either term. This strategy comes down to dissolving problems, instead of solving them. Rather than try to answer certain flawed questions, he questions the assumptions of the questions themselves and undermines them.

Beneficial mutual arrangements

Dennett also suggests that adherence to high ethical standards might pay off for the individual, because if others know your behaviour is restricted in these ways, the scope for certain beneficial mutual arrangements is enhanced. This is related to game theoretical considerations: in the famous Prisoner's Dilemma, 'moral' agents who cooperate will be more successful than 'non-moral' agents who do not cooperate. Cooperation wouldn't seem to naturally arise since agents are tempted to 'defect' and restore a Nash equilibrium, which is often not the best possible solution for all involved. Dennett concludes by contemplating the possibility that people might be able to opt in or out of moral responsibility: surely, he suggests, given the benefits, they would choose to opt in, especially given that opting out includes such things as being imprisoned or institutionalized.

References

*Dennett, Daniel. "Freedom Evolves", Viking Books, February, 2003 ISBN 0-670-03186-0

External links

* [http://wired-vig.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/play.html?pg=10 Short review by Steven Pinker ]
* [http://taylorandfrancis.metapress.com/content/wk21740240lu5452/fulltext.pdf Critical review (pp. 295-298)]
* [http://arts.independent.co.uk/books/reviews/article118285.ece Review by John Gray in "The Independent"]
* [http://www.kenanmalik.com/reviews/dennett_freedom.html A review that appeared in "The New Statesman"]
* [http://human-nature.com/nibbs/03/dcdennett.html Dennett and the Darwinizing of Free Will] — A review of Dennett's book "Freedom Evolves", by David P. Barash.