‘But even under the reductionist conception of free will, it still seems like Charles and Alex are somehow “less free” than “normal” people.’
This is the sentence that really stuck with me. I disagree with the quotation “less free”. If I don’t believe in free will, then I wouldn’t say “less free” in a figurative or literal sense. I would rather say “less normal” than “less free”. Because, I think we can all agree, Charles and Alex are NOT normal. Like you said, it’s not like they have LESS control than the rest of us, it’s more like they’re less able to conform to our social norms. It’s possible that none of us have no control in what we do or what we think, but we DO ACT and we DO THINK. Our brains are built to learn and if we have had the opportunity to learn, but didn’t, that is our responsibility. Responsibility exists whether free will are not mutually exclusive. The illusion of free will may cause some people to think that responsibility doesn’t always exist, but the truth is that the issue of responsibility is irrelevant in the issue of free will.
‘But even under the reductionist conception of free will, it still seems like Charles and Alex are somehow “less free” than “normal” people.’
This is the sentence that really stuck with me. I disagree with the quotation “less free”. If I don’t believe in free will, then I wouldn’t say “less free” in a figurative or literal sense. I would rather say “less normal” than “less free”. Because, I think we can all agree, Charles and Alex are NOT normal. Like you said, it’s not like they have LESS control than the rest of us, it’s more like they’re less able to conform to our social norms. It’s possible that none of us have no control in what we do or what we think, but we DO ACT and we DO THINK. Our brains are built to learn and if we have had the opportunity to learn, but didn’t, that is our responsibility. Responsibility exists whether free will are not mutually exclusive. The illusion of free will may cause some people to think that responsibility doesn’t always exist, but the truth is that the issue of responsibility is irrelevant in the issue of free will.