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Biological determinism and human behavior

6 min read

From: mk_thisisit

The concept of biological determinism posits that human behavior, including choices, values, intentions, and dreams, is entirely the result of an individual’s biological history and uncontrollable interactions with their environment [00:01:50], [00:01:59]. This perspective suggests that humans are “biological machines” [00:00:30], [00:01:50], similar to other animals and even trees [00:20:42]. While exceptionally complicated, humans are ultimately products of their biological makeup and external influences [00:01:53].

Deterministic Nature of Behavior

Behavior is determined by a complex interplay of factors, ranging from immediate neural activity to evolutionary history [00:03:41]. These factors include:

All these elements, from a second ago to millions of years ago, combine to shape who we are, leaving no room for “freedom of action” [00:04:38]. The idea of “mental slaves” might be better rephrased as “biological slaves” to emphasize this inherent lack of control [00:06:00], [00:40:17].

Humans as Complex Machines

Despite their complexity, humans are still machines, made of the same fundamental ingredients as simpler life forms [00:20:54]. For example, a human neuron and a fly neuron appear indistinguishable under a microscope, functioning similarly and using the same substances [00:00:38], [00:22:15]. The key difference lies in scale: humans possess exponentially more neurons (e.g., 100 million for every fly neuron), leading to emergent qualities like consciousness, philosophy, and art [00:22:31], [00:22:45].

This perspective implies that qualities like “extreme good” and “extreme evil,” racism, and xenophobia are determined by biology interacting with the environment [00:03:09], [00:07:39]. Even seemingly trivial choices, like ice cream flavor, are determined by preceding events and biological processes [00:15:16].

Evidence for Determinism

Thousands of observations support the idea that behavior is biologically determined [00:19:32]:

  • Pharmacological Effects: Specific drugs induce predictable behavioral changes [00:18:51].
  • Hormonal Influence: Female baboons exhibit specific behaviors at certain points in their ovulation cycle [00:18:58].
  • Developmental Influences: Malnutrition in the womb increases the risk of obesity in adulthood twentyfold [00:19:07]. Fetal alcohol syndrome can significantly impair a person’s ability to control behavior due to brain development issues [00:11:34].
  • Genetic Predisposition: Certain genes combined with specific environments can increase the risk of aggression by 30 times [00:19:15].
  • Socio-economic Impact: Growing up in poverty increases the risk of impaired behavioral control by 30 times compared to growing up in wealth, due to stress affecting brain function [00:25:25].
  • Everyday Examples: Daily activities like drinking coffee demonstrate how biological interventions change the “operation of our machine” by affecting brain chemistry related to concentration, arousal, and memory [00:25:03].

Implications for Free Will, Morality, and Justice

The rejection of free will has profound implications for morality and ethics, justice, and societal structures.

Rejection of Free Will

The belief in free will is described as a “false belief” that actions are independent of the brain’s history, hormones, genes, and experiences [00:16:02], [00:16:30]. If we are biological machines, then free will cannot exist [00:00:00], [00:01:35].

Impact on Justice System

If there is no free will, then concepts like blaming, punishing, praising, or rewarding individuals for their actions become illogical [00:00:10], [00:05:01].

  • Prison: The existence of prison is questioned [00:00:19], [00:05:47]. While society must be protected from dangerous individuals, this doesn’t necessitate concepts of free will or responsibility [00:06:32].
  • Analogy to Faulty Cars: A dangerous person is like a car with faulty brakes; it needs to be contained or repaired, but not punished for having an “evil soul” [00:06:42].
  • Death Penalty and IQ: Regulations in some states prohibiting the death penalty for those with an IQ below 70 illustrate a flawed recognition of this principle [00:00:24], [00:09:31]. This implies that a lower IQ prevents distinguishing good from evil, thus absolving responsibility [00:09:41]. However, this logic is inconsistent if an IQ of 71 leads to responsibility [00:09:50]. The argument extends to a billion other factors beyond IQ or brain damage that influence behavior, over which individuals have no control [00:10:35].
  • Meritocracy: Ideas of meritocracy, where individuals are rewarded for supposed accomplishments, are also seen as baseless, as achievements are outcomes of prior events beyond individual control [00:05:18], [00:05:51].

Unpredictability vs. Indeterminism

The existence of chaos, like the Butterfly Effect, or quantum uncertainty at a subatomic level does not negate determinism in human behavior [00:26:02], [00:30:39].

  • Quantum Uncertainty: While tempting to link to free will, quantum uncertainty is unlikely to affect individual neurons or overall behavior due to the immense scale difference (23 orders of magnitude) [00:27:11]. Even if it did, it would lead to random, inconsistent behavior, which is not what free will is typically assumed to be [00:28:44]. The idea that consciousness can harness quantum events for desired behavior is considered a “fairy tale” [00:30:03].
  • Chaos Theory: Chaos, while leading to unpredictability (sensitive dependence on initial conditions), does not equate to a lack of determinism [00:31:37], [00:32:36]. A chaotic system remains deterministic in its nature [00:42:11]. Therefore, randomness from quantum effects or chaos does not provide a basis for free will [00:41:51].

Consciousness

The existence of consciousness is acknowledged as a complex topic, but it is argued that it does not affect the presence or absence of free will [00:33:09], [00:34:00]. Conscious and unconscious actions are both underpinned by the same biological mechanisms [00:33:12].

Societal Acceptance and Historical Parallels

While challenging, the idea that free will does not exist could lead to a better world, much like past paradigm shifts [00:34:12], [00:38:19].

  • Witch Hunts: Societies once believed witches controlled weather and burned old women at the stake for bad harvests [00:35:11]. When it was understood that humans had no such agency, the world became “much happier” [00:35:30], [00:35:44].
  • Epilepsy: People with epileptic seizures were once thought to be possessed by demons [00:35:50]. Understanding it as a neurological disorder, akin to diabetes, led to humane treatment [00:36:01].
  • Dyslexia: Children with dyslexia were once labeled “stupid and lazy” [00:37:11]. Recognizing it as a neurodevelopmental difficulty, not a lack of motivation, improved teaching methods and prevented harm to children’s self-perception [00:37:31].
  • Slavery: Historically, slavery was widely accepted, even considered “a good thing” 400 years ago [00:38:48]. Today, slavery is condemned globally, demonstrating a shift in understanding what is “right” [00:39:02], [00:39:49].

These historical examples suggest that re-evaluating the notion of free will and acknowledging biological determinism could lead to greater compassion and a more just society, as understanding the mechanisms of action makes the world “a better place” [00:39:30].

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