Well, I was reading Scott Adam's Blog where he floated a working theory called the Pleasure Unit Theory as a means to describe why humans behave they way they do.
Of course, in doing so, Scott dismesses the concept of free will. Apparently, this has put a few noses out of joint.
The way I see this, everyone's right. It's a bit like the scientists arguing over wether matter was waves or particles ... till quantum proved it was both or either.
I think life is like that too - the reality is life is particles - I mean no one chooses to be born a leper or an STD ridden baby - that's the unfortunate luck of the draw. At every point in life, where we do have a choice to make, free will kicks in - and I think that's when the PUT kicks in ...
Let's imagine for a moment, a boy who was born on the wrong side of the tracks - he's lived a bad life, surrounded by crime and depravity. Now, he had no free will in his situation - but every choice he makes therafter is based on his decision tree. That decision tree is part of his "free will" ... but, I think Scott's theory works here, the decision tree is influenced by the boy's interpretation of the pleasure units he will recieve with each decision.
Thus human behaviour is created, and the circle is completed.
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