246 Self and the Phenomenon of Life
b2726 Self and the Phenomenon of Life: A Biologist Examines Life from Molecules to Humanity “9x6”should not be taken to mean that mind cannot be caused. It only means
that causation involving mind is of a different nature than simple physical
interactions. Therefore, the ultimate answer to the problem of free will
rests on whether a participating mind coexists with the brain, a point to be
taken up in Chapter 13: Self from Within: The Introspective Self.
11.6 Can Free Will Alter the Course of a Chaotic World?
Sure enough, free will does make a difference to the world, to a limited
extent. If free will is biologically adaptive, it has to alter the environment
for the benefit of the self. It does this by changing the probability of
events, making them more likely, or less likely, to happen.^15 When an
event approaches certainty, free will is futile. Free will is most effec-
tive when the event is in the mid-range of the probability scale (0.50).
Although I cannot change the whole world, I can change a small part
of it, under certain conditions. For instance, I can duck a falling rock
to save my life when I see it rolling down my way, but I cannot deviate
the course of an asteroid hitting the Earth. That would need the com-
bined free will of many, many people, using technologies of an enormous
scale. On the other hand, even the combined technologies of the entire
human civilization would be useless to avert the impending collision of
our Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy, scheduled to take place four
billion years hence.
11.7 Free Will in Lower Animals?
If we take free will as a biological phenomenon, it is not hard to assume
that all animals have a will, in a degree proportional to their evolutionary
status. Pet owners, especially of dogs, cats, and horses, know their indi-
viduality and respect their choices and preferences. Bees and ants, on
the other hand, are primarily instinctive in that they are less capable of
thinking, if at all. But within a limited range they, too, seem to have some
flexibility of individual choice. Nigel Franks of the University of Bristol