I have spent some time contemplating same issue for some time and this is what I make of it:
Contra-casual free will is really about certain capabilities, that is being able to see the consequences of you doing X, and act on those predictions. Usually there is no point in applying Justice on small children or the severely mentally retarded because they have no idea what they are doing and in order for justice to be effective the person doing X must understand that doing X will result in punishment, and be able to act upon it. (I guess that you might induce some conditioning by punishing children and the mentally retarded, but I wouldn’t refer that to justice). In that sens justice is really pragmatic.
I would say that a person that is “less free” is someone is less able to foresee the consequences of one’s actions, and is less able to act according to those predictions.
If the tumor-Alex was in fact systematically planing the pedophilia and not of a more compulsive sort, I would deem him guilty in a sens, but since removing the tumor would (hopefully) bring back good ol’ Alex, there is really no point in applying any punishment.
Dennett wrote a book on contra-casual-free will that dissolves the question quite nicely: Freedom Evolves if you are interested
I have spent some time contemplating same issue for some time and this is what I make of it:
Contra-casual free will is really about certain capabilities, that is being able to see the consequences of you doing X, and act on those predictions. Usually there is no point in applying Justice on small children or the severely mentally retarded because they have no idea what they are doing and in order for justice to be effective the person doing X must understand that doing X will result in punishment, and be able to act upon it. (I guess that you might induce some conditioning by punishing children and the mentally retarded, but I wouldn’t refer that to justice). In that sens justice is really pragmatic.
I would say that a person that is “less free” is someone is less able to foresee the consequences of one’s actions, and is less able to act according to those predictions. If the tumor-Alex was in fact systematically planing the pedophilia and not of a more compulsive sort, I would deem him guilty in a sens, but since removing the tumor would (hopefully) bring back good ol’ Alex, there is really no point in applying any punishment.
Dennett wrote a book on contra-casual-free will that dissolves the question quite nicely: Freedom Evolves if you are interested