HUMAN FREEDOM 



freedom is a real component of the be- 

 havior, even though it should later be evi- 

 dent that the grounds for the belief are 

 partially or wholly fallacious. It is clear 

 that judgments which have been reached, 

 whether factually and logically valid or 

 not, may be real causes of subsequent ac- 

 tion. The judgment or opinion, let us not 

 forget, is not a disembodied function; it 

 results from changes in brain texture just 

 as truly as movement of my arm re- 

 sults from changes in the texture of my 

 muscles. 



If I honestly do not believe that I am 

 free to choose, it would appear that no 

 amount of foreknowledge of possible fu- 

 ture contingencies can lead to any possible 

 modification of my behavior in view of 

 this knowledge. I will passively await my 

 fate with whatever of stoic calm I can 

 command. 



But this no normal man can do without 

 long training in the subordination of his 

 natural impulses to an unnatural philosoph- 

 ical dogma. And these impulses can never 

 be fully subjugated. The biological in- 

 heritance of struggle for existence and 

 mastery is too strong. The reflex discrimi- 

 nation and unconscious "physiological 



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