Naturalism.org

Punitive and ineffective criminal justice policies find attitudinal support in the belief in free will, the idea that offenders are essentially self-made and therefore deserving of harsh punishments, including death.  Changing beliefs about free will can soften punitive attitudes and build support for addressing the actual causes of crime.  To change beliefs about free will and build support for criminal justice reform, it is proposed that public education on causality and crime be undertaken by a credible group of multi-disciplinary experts.

Negatives stemming from the free will myth

Economic and social inequality

Negatives stemming from the free will myth

Retributive attitudes supporting harsh criminal sanctions

Local vs. ultimate control

A naturalistic understanding of spirituality

The spiritual experience - the experience of meaning, connection and joy, often informed by philosophy or religion - is, from a naturalistic perspective, a state of the physical person, not evidence for a higher realm or non-physical essence. Nevertheless, this understanding of spirituality doesn’t lessen the attraction of such an experience, or its value for the naturalist. We naturally crave such feelings and so will seek the means to achieve them consistent with our philosophy.

The Author (“A”) raises important issues about criminal justice, science, and traditional conceptions of responsibility, reaching the correct conclusion that “to remain credible and to become more effective, the concepts applied in the law must evolve so as to become grossly consistent with a contemporary scientific understanding of human nature.”

Anthropologist Jared Diamond's views on revenge and retribution

Speaking at a 2005 American Enterprise Institute conference on The New Neuromorality, University of Pennsylvania law professor Stephen Morse argued that neuroscience will have little impact on our moral and criminal responsibility practices.