I don’t think this answer meets the standards of rigour that you set above, but I’m increasingly convinced that the idea of free will arises out of punishment. Punishment plays a central role in relations among apes, but once you reach the level of sophistication where you can ask “are we machines”, the answer “no” gives the most straightforward philosophical path to justifying your punishing behaviour.
Why? If the answer is “no” then applying a proper punishment causes the nebulous whatsit in charge of the person’s free will to change their future behaviour.
If the answer is “yes” then applying a proper punishment adjusts the programming of their brain in a way that will change their future behaviour.
The only way a “yes” makes it harder to justify punishing someone is if you overexpand a lack of “free will” to imply “incapable of learning”.
I don’t think this answer meets the standards of rigour that you set above, but I’m increasingly convinced that the idea of free will arises out of punishment. Punishment plays a central role in relations among apes, but once you reach the level of sophistication where you can ask “are we machines”, the answer “no” gives the most straightforward philosophical path to justifying your punishing behaviour.
Why? If the answer is “no” then applying a proper punishment causes the nebulous whatsit in charge of the person’s free will to change their future behaviour.
If the answer is “yes” then applying a proper punishment adjusts the programming of their brain in a way that will change their future behaviour.
The only way a “yes” makes it harder to justify punishing someone is if you overexpand a lack of “free will” to imply “incapable of learning”.