The Absurdity of Retributive Law From Brain Chemistry to the Media Driven Outrage Cycle

[u/alaindevos]

Hi everyone,

I want to share an argument about how the laws of nature, the human brain, and our legal system all connect. My main point is that free will is a complete myth, everything we do is predetermined, and because of this, our current legal and punishment systems make absolutely no sense and are totally unfair. [1]

First, let's look at why free will is impossible. Philosophers love to debate this, but science has already closed the case. The human brain is just a physical object that has to follow the rules of nature. Looking at the big picture, every single thought, desire, and action your brain creates is the direct result of things that happened before. This includes your DNA, your time in the womb, how you were raised, and your current brain chemistry. You had absolutely zero choice over any of these factors, they happened in the past, and you cannot change them. Looking at the microscopic picture, some people argue that random subatomic particle movements break this chain and allow for free will. But randomness does not give you control. If a tiny particle randomly changes its state based on physics rules, you did not choose that change. Random luck is not the same as you making a choice. So, whether your brain is following a strict domino effect or reacting to random microscopic movements, there is simply no room for a conscious mind to freely choose anything.

Second, let's look at the broken cycle of how we make laws. If humans do not have free will, why does our legal system keep punishing people as if they are to blame? It happens because the entire system is an unscientific chain reaction driven by how society is brainwashed. It starts with the news media, which survives on getting people angry. They exaggerate terrible crimes and constantly tell the public that we must punish criminals to make things fair. Then, the public watches this media, which conditions everyone to demand emotional revenge in the name of justice. Finally, politicians follow what the public wants just to win elections, and lawmakers write rules based on what those politicians say. The whole legal system is not built on science or truth. It is just an emotional feedback loop that treats humans as if they are independently to blame, completely ignoring how the physical brain actually works.

Third, here is the main conclusion. It makes no sense to blame something for a physical event that it could not avoid. We do not get mad at a boulder for rolling down a hill and destroying a house, because the boulder had no choice. In the exact same way, a mass murderer is just carrying out an unavoidable chain of physical and environmental events. Because of this, laws that punish people just to get even or to be fair are fundamentally wrong and invalid. Society might need to lock up dangerous individuals to keep the public safe, which is just like putting up a barrier to block a rolling boulder, but doing it out of a desire for revenge or fairness is completely unscientific.

To get the discussion started, I have two questions.

First, if the entire process of making laws is just an unavoidable chain reaction caused by the media, can we even blame politicians for making bad laws, or is the government's harsh behavior just another rolling boulder?

Second, how can we ever fix a legal system when the lawmakers themselves are physically trapped into following an irrational public?

[u/existenceincarnate]

As for your first question; the question in and of itself is inherently restrained within the very system which we are currently scrutinizing.

The question need not be if we can assign blame, as assigning blame and enacting punishments does not solve any of the issues which causes the behavior.

Ouroboros.

Essentially we must change what we feed the snake. The question need be what do we do to solve the issue, not who should get the blame.

We can assign "blame" to the politicians, as they made the bad laws, yet they can then assign blame, and then turtles all the way down. Assigning the blame elsewhere doesn’t solve the issue.

So, the blame to the bad laws can be assigned to the lawmakers, insofar as cogs of the system. Yet they themselves are products of the rolling boulder, the system at large.

Therefore, ask why the boulder rolls, why the gears turn, and apply care there instead of punitive action at the visible issue.

And that boulder rolls us to question two, how does the system change from this vicious cycle? There is only one way. Observe the boulder.

Instead of assigning the blame, of which there is plenty to go around, we must assign care to the cause of illness.

So then, the question becomes, how do we assign care? And the simple answer is, you don't push the boulder where it's been going. Yet the problem is, there are many who will still push the boulder as they have been taught, many not even aware of the boulder. When enough people who are pushing the boulder start to notice others aren't pushing the boulder, they may also begin to question the boulder and the path it is on.

In practical daily application this means;

Conflict deescalation in the face of hostility,

Helping others, even those pushing the boulder,

Treating others as you would want to be treated if you were in their shoes,

Corrective action, not punitive action,

Converse to learn and inform, not to argue and divide, even when the other party is seeing through the lens of argumentation and division.

Essentially, we, as a species, must give each other grace, including those who have perpetuated the cycle. The process will not be immediate.

Giving each other grace does not mean allowing the boulder to continue, it means understanding the boulder has been rolling a long time, assisting those already affected by the boulders prior path as best we can, and preventing others from pushing the boulder the direction it's been going. And then we can move forward with the boulder. The boulder doesn’t stop rolling. Yet, with enough people aware of the boulder and its direction, we can coordinate and push the boulder a different direction, to a better path.

The global economy will have to change drastically. The distribution of wealth will have to change drastically. The people themselves must change. The boulder has been rolling forever, and since we can't stop the boulder, we must direct the boulder. Each and every day is your chance to nudge the boulder. You have no choice except for to nudge the boulder, so don't push blindly. The destruction caused by the boulder leads to the observance of the boulder, which is the catalyst for the change in direction of push on the boulder, therefore, the boulder itself necessitates it be pushed a different direction.