When my alarm goes off a 8:20 in the morning, I wake up. I walk to the bathroom, I brush my teeth, I wash my face, I apply moisturizer. I walk to the dresser and pick out clothes suitable for that day’s weather, clothes that match. Perhaps I curl my hair. I cross the street to the dining hall, where I eat a bowl of fruit and yogurt. It is difficult to say whether I do these things out of my own free will or simply under the guise of it. Scientists and philosophers could argue extensively on the topic.
Joe Vukov is one such scientist. In his talk on neurochemical variability, he explores the various ways in which neurological chemicals influence subjects’ moral beliefs and, by extension, their actions. An intoxicated subject, for example, will likely base their actions on direct consequences rather than thoughts of moral obligation. A subject on MDMA will tend to show more empathy. A subject with elevated serotonin will likely avoid causing harm to others. In the Ultimatum Game, a subject will elevated serotonin is more prone to taking a smaller share to avoid harming the person making the offer. Despite the belief that morals are fixed and behaviors are chosen, these subjects’ behaviors are swayed by their brain chemistry. It is difficult to say whether they are choosing their actions or if they are merely the result of the chemical and electrical reactions taking place inside of them.
Parasites can also provide some insight into the debate. The parasitic worm E. californiensis infects the brain of its host fish and changes its neurochemistry, inhibiting serotonin and stimulating dopamine. In the psychosis-like state induced by the parasite, the host’s swimming patterns become erratic and attract birds, which eat the fish and allow the worm to reproduce. The fish’s actions are no longer of its own choosing, but a result of changes to its brain chemistry, and one can wonder how different this is from the serotonin-elevated subjects in the Ultimatum Game.
Likewise, spiders infected with H. argyraphaga larva spin abnormal webs due to chemicals that the wasp larva put in their brains. Hairworm-infected crickets are drawn towards reflective bodies of water by the chemical influence of the parasites, causing them to drown themselves so that the hairworms can reproduce.
Does this mean that there is definitively no free will? Far from it. Simply because parasites can cause organisms to act a certain way does not mean that choices in the absence of those parasites are purely chemical. Though actions are created by chemical reactions in the brain, there is still much about the origins of thoughts and decision-making that we do not know. Further, the definition of what free will means can be debated. Interruptions of normal brain function like those caused by parasites give us much insight into the brain, but it is still not enough to make conclusions with certainty. Science and philosophy still have a long way to go in figuring out why we do the things we do.
Works cited
Bates, M. (2018). Meet 5 “zombie” parasites that mind-control their hosts. National Geographic. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/10/141031-zombies-parasites-animals-science-halloween/
Vokov, J. (2019). NEURO 300: Neuroscience Seminar, week 10 notes
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