The Insanity of Denying Free Will

<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW68794133 BCX4"> <p><span data-contrast="auto">In his book</span> <a href= "https://colsoncenter.christianbook.com/orthodoxy-g-k-chesterton/9780802456571/pd/456571?event=ESRCG"> <em><span data-contrast="none">Orthodoxy,</span></em></a> <span data-contrast="auto">G.K. Chesterton observed that even insane explanations for the world can have a perverse consistency. A madman who thinks he’s the king of England has a ready explanation for anyone who denies his claim: They’re conspirators trying to keep him from his throne. “His mind,” wrote Chesterton, “moves in a perfect but narrow circle.” </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559685":0,"335559731":720,"335559737":0,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="auto">Chesterton’s asylum example also applies to</span> <a href= "https://phys.org/news/2023-10-scientist-decades-dont-free.html"><span data-contrast="none"> a recent article published at Phys.org</span></a> <span data-contrast="auto">about a scientist who has written a book to convince everyone that humans don’t have free will. Neuroendocrinologist and MacArthur “genius grant” winner Robert Sapolsky</span> <span data-contrast="auto">has studied people and primates for over 40 years. In his book</span> <a href= "https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/592344/determined-by-robert-m-sapolsky/"> <em><span data-contrast="none">Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will</span></em></a><em><span data-contrast= "auto">,</span></em> <span data-contrast="auto">Dr. Sapolsky argues that humans are molecular machines, wholly determined by our genes, our environments, and our past. Thus, our behavior, even when condemned as criminal or evil, is no more a choice than “the convulsions of a seizure, the division of cells or the beating of our hearts.”</span><span data-ccp-props= "{"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contra