Jordan Bowman: Viewing with Today’s Eye an Age-Old Argument
Great ideas are sometimes born of the most common experiences. For Jordan Bowan, reading a New York Times story sparked his in-depth research shedding some new light on the age-old argument about freedom of choice and responsibility.
In the March 11 edition of The New York Times, an article titled “The Brain on the Stand” by Jeffrey Rosen suggested that advances in neuroscience might require us to change our ideas about freedom of choice and responsibility. As Jordan read the story, he thought about it in the context of theories that he had recently studied during courses on free will and modern justice. “People have been arguing about responsibility and free will for several thousand years,” notes Jordan. “These concepts currently are experiencing radical new developments.”
Jordan explains that these issues “are not contained and are difficult to be discussed within the domain of only one discipline,” noting that an understanding of psychology, biology, physics, philosophy and a working knowledge of the legal system and public policy are required. “All of this adds a great deal of confusion and disagreement between scholars, whose opinions are scattered across a wide spectrum,” he says. “This startling lack of consensus only increases my intrigue.”
“My hope is that my research in this field will decrease some of the confusion that has been created,” Jordan explains.To learn more about Jordan’s research, consider attending his Scholarship Day presentation…
Project Titles: "Neuroscience, Free Will, and the Law"
Date: Scholarship and Creative Arts Day 2008 – Tuesday, April 22
Faculty Mentors: Dr. Michael Silberstein
Jordan is one of several student scholars from Elizabethtown’s Department of Philosophy who will present during Scholarship and Creative Arts Day 2008. A full schedule of this and other events featuring the creativity and scholarship of Elizabethtown students will be available in mid-April on the Scholarship and Creative Arts Day webpage.
