venerdì 29 luglio 2016

What Can Evolutionary Biology Contribute to Theology, and vice versa? Celia Deane-Drummond

Notebook per
What Can Evolutionary Biology Contribute to Theology, and vice versa?
Celia Deane-Drummond
Citation (APA): Deane-Drummond, C. (2016). What Can Evolutionary Biology Contribute to Theology, and vice versa? [Kindle Android version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com

Parte introduttiva
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 2
What Can Evolutionary Biology Contribute to Theology, and vice versa? By Celia Deane-Drummond
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 11
Can theologians consider what biologists say about the world important for their understanding of God?
Nota - Posizione 12
LA DOMANDA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 17
Theology concerns itself with the spiritual realm as well as the creaturely, material world. To forget that as creatures we are both spiritual and earthly beings is to open the door to what in the history of the Christian Church is known as the Manichaean heresy. This ancient set of beliefs took the world of matter to be intrinsically evil,
Nota - Posizione 19
RISCHIO MANICHEISMO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 22
Some recent theologians have started to experiment with ways of understanding the incarnation by speaking of “deep incarnation.” The idea is that the incarnation is not only “deep” into human history but also into evolutionary history.
Nota - Posizione 23
DEEP INCARNATION
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 23
landmark essay from 2001, “The Cross of Christ in an Evolutionary World,” Niels Henrik Gregersen
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 31
the Jesuit priest and scholar Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881– 1955) took evolutionary biology very seriously.
Nota - Posizione 32
CHARDIN
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 34
His belief that Christ was the Omega point to which all of evolutionary history ultimately pointed was a theological belief.
Nota - Posizione 35
OMEGA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 36
Catholic theologian and priest Karl Rahner (1904– 1984) also developed an approach to anthropology that took human evolution seriously
Nota - Posizione 37
RAHNER
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 48
Aquinas’s understanding of science was somewhat different from our own, in part because medieval scholars did not divide up the disciplines in the same way that we do today. Nonetheless, his basic idea of an “analogy of being”— or analogia entis— between God and God’s creatures remains fruitful. This idea reminds us that whatever we say about God— for instance about God’s Goodness, Justice, or Wisdom— we say only by analogy to what these words mean in the human context, because God is not simply another being, more perfect than all other beings;
Nota - Posizione 52
TOMMASO E L ANALOGIA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 56
Urs von Balthasar (1905– 1988), offers a useful and productive concept, that of “theo-drama.” The idea is that God acts in human history according to a pattern that bears some analogy with the great drama of Christ’s life, passion, and resurrection.
Nota - Posizione 59
THEO DRAMA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 65
Natural selection presupposes that there are certain traits or characteristics that are “selected for” in given, fixed environments. These new theories— often grouped together as the extended evolutionary synthesis (EES) or niche construction theory (NCT)— suggest that this picture of natural selection is one-sided. In reality, organisms seek out new environments and then change those environments, constructing their own “niches.” This process of niche construction actively transforms the kind of selection pressures that were previously assumed to be constant.
Nota - Posizione 67
NUOVE TEORIE
Nota - Posizione 68
NICCHIA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 76
I have suggested, for instance in my book Christ and Evolution (2009), that theo-drama be understood as analogous to biological accounts of niche construction.
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 81
why on earth would evolutionary biologists be interested in theology?
Nota - Posizione 81
SECONDA DOMANDA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 84
theology can challenge in productive ways some of the deep-seated assumptions of secular anthropology, suggesting new lines of empirical research.
Nota - Posizione 84
RUOLO DELLA TEOLOGIA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 85
To take just one example, consider symbolic thought, which has gained considerable traction of late as one of the distinctive marks of human identity in evolutionary anthropology. We are the symbolic species, as neuro-anthropologist Terrence Deacon has claimed.
Nota - Posizione 86
ES DEL PENSIERO SIMBOLICO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 92
the broader point is clear: theology and evolutionary science can challenge and influence each other in fruitful ways.
Nota - Posizione 93
CONCLUSIONE
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 100
Discussion Summary
Nota - Posizione 100
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 101
the common supposition that evolutionary thought and theology are inevitably incompatible with each other is just as mistaken as a simple fusion of the two, as in evolutionary theism, where God simply works through evolutionary processes.
Nota - Posizione 102
EVOLUTIONARY THEOLOGY
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 104
I refer less to God as Creator and more to a Christology that engages with evolutionary questions and topics. I also outlined an understanding of salvation history through an expansive version of “theo-drama” that includes other creaturely beings.
Nota - Posizione 106
CRISTOLOGIA E TEODRAMA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 106
the relationship between a theological perspective and one parsed through the evolutionary sciences is best thought of in metaphysical terms as being analogous, rather than in literal correspondence.
Nota - Posizione 107
ANALOGIE
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 111
if Christ overcomes death, why is there so much death in evolutionary terms
Nota - Posizione 111
IL PROB DELLA MORTE
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 112
Or, what if species other than humans also have capabilities for symbolic (or implied, religious) thought?
Nota - Posizione 112
PROB ALTRE RAZZE
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 113
threaten the special place of humans
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 121
our evolutionary knowledge does raise huge questions about theodicy, such as how to affirm the goodness of God in an evolved world that is full of suffering and pain.
Nota - Posizione 122
EVO E MALE
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 126
A few have even suggested that some repeated practices of chimpanzees such as throwing rocks at large selected— sacred?— trees may be a form of religious ritual.
Nota - Posizione 128
SCIMMIE RELIGIOSE. LA RELIGIONE NN UMANA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 141
Actually, even Thomas Aquinas recognized that other species had what he termed a form of practical wisdom, but it was directed to specific goals of sense appetite rather than the more deliberative type that is characteristic of human beings.
Nota - Posizione 142
AQUINO E LE ALTRE SPECIE
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 165
My question for you is, are there any indications that evolutionary scientists are actually interested in listening to what theologians have to say about empirical research on the origins of symbolic thought and wisdom, etc.?
Nota - Posizione 166
DOMANDA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 175
The evolution of wisdom project at Notre Dame arose out of this sort of discussion between a theologian (me) and a scientist (Agustin Fuentes):
Nota - Posizione 176
PROGETTO SAGGEZZA FUENTES
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 185
Death itself— not only particular human deaths as consequences of human evil but presumably also all natural pain and suffering, especially of the innocent or weak— is taken to be life’s ultimate enemy that Christ overcomes (and that in the eschaton is said to be “no more”). How should we think theologically about the evolutionary process, in which death is evidently necessary for life, when theologically speaking Life ought to conquer Death (in whatever way one might interpret this)?
Nota - Posizione 188
DEEP INC E MORTE
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 200
“The Word was Made Flesh.” Much of the debate among those who talk about deep incarnation is about what that phrase means.
Nota - Posizione 201
TEORA DELLA DEEP
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 213
I have argued with other scholars such as Christopher Southgate and Elizabeth Johnson on this point precisely, since I think, like you, that if Christ is associated too tightly with the evolutionary story, this raises particular dangers for how to interpret present and future creation.
Nota - Posizione 214
PERICOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 233
Evolutionary anthropology, for example, presupposes that there is no direction to evolution,
Nota - Posizione 234
POSSIBILE PROBLEMA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 235
But there are scientists like Simon Conway Morris, for example, who are prepared to speak about evolution operating within restraints
Nota - Posizione 236
MORRIS
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 238
So it is a misconception to think that evolution is just about contingent mutations of the gene and nothing else.
Nota - Posizione 238
ERRORE
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 247
The theological question is “when did this group of hominins become self-conscious and aware of God?” That seems to be the mark of Adam
Nota - Posizione 247
ADAM

giovedì 28 luglio 2016

What Are the Implications of the Free Will Debate for Individuals and Society Alfred Mele

Notebook per
What Are the Implications of the Free Will Debate for Individuals and Society
Alfred Mele
Citation (APA): Mele, A. (2014). What Are the Implications of the Free Will Debate for Individuals and Society [Kindle Android version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com

Parte introduttiva
Nota - Posizione 2
l esperimento di libet limite 1 modi di decidere: in libet prendiamo decisioni elementari a caso e quando vogliamo. non sono certo le condizioni in cui scegliamo nella vita quotidiana: divorzi carriera... ci sono decisioni diverse prese con metodi diversi limite 2 attività neuronale: libet ci dice che esiste un attività neuronale che precede la scelta. ma questa attività prob. innesca la coscoenza senza decidere alcunchè 2 definizioni di free will limite 3: previsione prob. libertà. gli studi cprevedono al 60 le ns decisioni. qs non è sufficiente ad eliminare freewill: free&previsione credere in la e comportamenti sociali: chi ci crede è più felice e si comporta meglio
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 2
What Are the Implications of the Free Will Debate for Individuals and Society? By Alfred Mele
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 3
Does free will exist? Current interest in that question is fueled by news reports suggesting that neuroscientists have proved it doesn’t.
Nota - Posizione 4
NEWS
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 6
One major plank in a well-known neuroscientific argument for the nonexistence of free will is the claim that participants in various experiments make their decisions unconsciously.
Nota - Posizione 7
INCONSCIO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 10
The other part of the evidence comes from participants’ reports on when they first became aware of their decisions.
Nota - Posizione 10
QUANDO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 11
the typical sequence of events is as follows: first, there is the brain activity the scientists focus on, then the participants become aware of decisions (or intentions or urges) to act, and then they act, flexing a wrist or pushing a button, for example.
Nota - Posizione 12
ESPERIMENTO TIPO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 15
1. In various experiments, participants decide unconsciously. 2. Only consciously made decisions can be freely made.
Nota - Posizione 16
CONCLUSIONI
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 17
3. The way participants decide in these experiments is the way people always decide.
Nota - Posizione 17
ASSUNTO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 19
Participants in these experiments are instructed to perform a simple action whenever they want and then report on when they first became aware of an urge, intention, or decision to perform it.
Nota - Posizione 21
SEMPLICITÀ
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 25
The experimental setting is very different from a situation in which you’re carefully weighing pros and cons
Nota - Posizione 26
SETTING
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 29
we can’t be confident that all decisions are made in the same way.
Nota - Posizione 30
STRUTTURA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 31
the brain activity that experimenters are measuring several hundred milliseconds or several seconds in advance of the action gives rise to additional brain activity that is a conscious decision, and that conscious decision plays a part in producing the action – the flexing, clicking, or pressing. There is no good reason to believe that the early brain activity (measured in seconds with fMRI and in milliseconds in the other studies) is correlated with a decision that is made – unconsciously – at that time.
Nota - Posizione 35
BRAIN ACTIVITY E CORRELATION
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 44
According to a modest conception of free will, as long as you’re able to make rational, informed, decisions when you’re not being subjected to undue force and also are capable of acting on the basis of some of those decisions, you have free will
Nota - Posizione 46
FREE WILL
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 46
According to a more ambitious view, something crucial must be added to these abilities: If you have free will, then alternative decisions are open to you in a way requiring that the natural laws that govern your brain activity sometimes give you at most a probability of deciding one way and a probability of deciding another way.
Nota - Posizione 48
POSSIBILITÀ APERTE
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 52
Most people assume that the future is open in a certain way. As they see it, not only don’t we know now exactly what we will do next week, but it also is not determined
Nota - Posizione 53
INDETERMINISMO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 56
In the fMRI study I mentioned, scientists were able to predict with 60% accuracy,
Nota - Posizione 56
PREDIZIONE: 60
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 58
After all, the evidence leaves a 40% chance that the participant would press the other button.
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 63
Believers in ambitious free will thrive on probabilities of action, and that’s exactly what we find in these studies.
Nota - Posizione 63
CONFERMA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 66
lowering people’s confidence in the existence of free will increases bad behavior
Nota - Posizione 67
STRAUSS
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 67
belief in free will promotes personal well-being.
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 81
When do we become aware of our decisions and why does that matter? How is consciousness related to free will?
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 82
Can we make free decisions unconsciously?
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 86
How much self- understanding does free will require?
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 91
Is free compatible or incompatible with determinism
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 104
Is it possible, in principle, for science to prove that free will is an illusion?

Tre esperimenti che confermano il ruolo preponderante della coscienza

In one experiment, the participants were women who wanted to do a breast self-examination during the next month.  The women were divided into two groups.  There was only one difference in what they were instructed to do.  One group was asked to decide during the experiment on a place and time to do the examination the next month, and the other group wasn't.  The first group wrote down what they decided before the experiment ended and turned the note in.  Obviously, they were conscious of what they were writing down.  They had conscious implementation intentions.

The results were impressive.  All of the women given the implementation intention instruction did complete a breast exam the next month, and all but one of them did it at basically the time and place they decided on in advance.  But only 53 percent of the women from the other group performed a breast exam the following month.

In another experiment, participants were informed of the benefits of vigorous exercise.  Again, there were two groups.  One group was asked to decide during the experiment on a place and time for twenty minutes of exercise the next week, and the other group wasn't given this instruction.  The vast majority - 91 percent - of those in the implementation intention group exercised the following week, compared to only 39 percent of the other group.

In a third experiment, the participants were recovering drug addicts who would be looking for jobs soon.  All of them were supposed to write resumes by the end of the day.  One group was asked in the morning to decide on a place and time later that day to carry out that task.  The other group was asked to decide on a place and time to eat lunch.  None of the people in the second group wrote a resume by the end of the day, but 80 percent of the first group did.

ADHD

Like the late great Thomas Szasz, my objection is that labels like ADHD medicalizepeople's choices - partly to stigmatize, but mostly to excuse.  In his words, "The business of psychiatry is to provide society with excuses disguised as diagnoses, and with coercions justified as treatments."

PREMESSA: [A] large fraction of what is called mental illness is nothing other than unusual preferences

these negative adjectives are thinly disguised normative judgments, not scientific or medical claims. Why should mental health professionals be exempt from economists' standard critique? 

The American Psychiatric Association's (APA) 1973 vote to take homosexuality off the list of mental illnesses is a microcosm of the overall field (Bayer 1981). The medical science of homosexuality had not changed; there were no new empirical tests that falsified the standard view.

Overall, the most natural way to formalize ADHD in economic terms is as a high disutility of work combined with a strong taste for variety. Undoubtedly, a person who dislikes working will be more likely to fail to 'finish school work, chores or duties in the workplace' and be 'reluctant to engage in tasks that require sustained mental effort'. Similarly, a person with a strong taste for variety will be 'easily distracted 

Il piacere al centro. No one accuses a boy diagnosed with ADHD of forgetting to play videogames.

Another misconception about Szasz is that he denies the connection between physical and mental activity. The problem is that 'chemical imbalance' is a moral judgment masquerading as a medical one.

A closely related misconception is that Szasz ignores medical evidence that many mental illnesses can be effectively treated. Once again, though, the ability of drugs to change brain chemistry and thereby behavior does nothing to show that the initial behavior was 'sick'. If alcohol makes people less shy, is that evidence that shyness is a disease?

The Price of Cold Turkey

Contingency management (CM) is a strategy used in alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse treatment to encourage positive behavior change (e.g., abstinence) in patients by providing reinforcing consequences when patients meet treatment goals and by withholding those consequences or providing punitive measures when patients engage in the undesired behavior (e.g., drinking). For example, positive consequences for abstinence may include receipt of vouchers that are exchangeable for retail goods, whereas negative consequences for drinking may include withholding of vouchers or an unfavorable report to a parole officer.

I wish they chose a more transparent name, but the results of this well-developed literature are striking even to me. There have been lots of good experiments where addicts are randomly assigned to either the experimental group, where they getconditional rewards for abstinence, and a control group, where they get unconditionalrewards. Paying people to ditch their favorite vice is amazingly effective

Economists have done a number of studies showing that the demand for drugs usually considered highly addictive is still fairly elastic. The CM literature goes a bit further: Instead of estimating elasticity, it estimates the total consumer's surplus of the marginal addict, by seeing how much you have to pay people to reduce their consumption to zero.

As might be expected, psychiatrists look at these results and see only another tool for "helping" people who probably don't want to be helped in the first place. In contrast, I look at these results and see further evidence that addiction is not a "disease," but a free choice.

Abusi infantili

1. Never.  As Robert Filmer infamously argued, parents are within their rights to treat their children however they please.

2. Only if the parent has perpetrated a severe crime (attempted murder, rape, etc.) against the child.

3. If the parent is likely to perpetrate a severe crime against the child.

4. If loss of custody increases the expected welfare of (parent + child).  Or in other words, if the gain to the child exceeds the loss to the parent.

5. If the loss of custody increases the expected welfare of the child.  Notice: On this standard, losses to the parent don't count.

6. If the loss of custody increases the welfare of children in general.  Notice: On this standard, a child could be taken from his parents even if he'd be worse off as a result - as long as the deterrent effect on other potentially abusive parents made up the difference.

7. If the loss of custody increases expected utility of all non-child-abusers.  Notice: This standard doesn't just count the deterrent effect on potentially abusive parents; it also counts third parties' desire for retribution against abusive parents.

8. Zero tolerance: Loss of custody is the "mandatory minimum" sentence for any clear-cut act of child abuse.

I could be wrong, but I'd guess that current U.S. policy is somewhere between #3 and #4.  But where is the morally right place to draw the line?

Somehow I doubt that many people will take position #8.  It's expressively appealing, but even people who hate economics can't easily evade the fact that a kid's imperfect parents are usually his least-bad alternative.  But how much lower are you willing to go?

The Economics of Insanity Bryan Caplan

Notebook per
The Economics of Insanity
Bryan Caplan
Citation (APA): Caplan, B. (2016). The Economics of Insanity [Kindle Android version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com

Parte introduttiva
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 2
The Economics of Insanity By Bryan Caplan
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 5
1. An Example
Nota - Posizione 5
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 5
A man climbs up to the top of a tower and starts shooting into a crowd. If captured alive, even if he demurs, there can be little doubt that someone will try to declare him "insane." A few lame efforts to correlate his behavior with his brain might be made, but ultimately, the issue will be put thusly: "You would HAVE TO BE INSANE to climb up a tower and fire into a crowd."
Nota - Posizione 7
SULLA TORRE
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 10
2. Insanity as Extremely Heterogeneous Preferences
Nota - Posizione 10
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 11
Is there anything about the extreme tails of the distribution that makes them in any way less "rational" in the economic sense?
Nota - Posizione 12
GUSTI CODE E RAZIONALITÀ
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 13
3. Insanity as Intransitivity?
Nota - Posizione 13
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 13
One might think that the putatively insane exhibit more intransitivities in their preferences, but I doubt
Nota - Posizione 13
FOLLE=LUNATICO? FOLLE=OSSESSO?
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 15
4. Insanity as Systematically Biased Belief
Nota - Posizione 15
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 16
Another alternative is that insanity in economic terms is not weird preferences, but systematically biased beliefs about the world.
Nota - Posizione 16
ERRORE SISTEMATICO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 17
But it seems like plenty of people regarded as perfectly sane have systematically biased beliefs.
Nota - Posizione 17
TIPICO ANCHE DEI SANI
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 18
Less controversially, well-established scientific conclusions - from evolution to the age of the earth - are rejected by a majority of the U.S. population.
Nota - Posizione 19
ETÀ DELLA TERRA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 21
In any case, it seems that many of the most notorious lunatics had a quite sound grasp of the world which enabled them to carry out their plots.
Nota - Posizione 21
LUCIDA FOLLIA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 23
5. Insanity as Unusual Biological Incentives and Constraints
Nota - Posizione 23
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 23
Suppose your metabolism is such that if you eat until you feel full, you will be morbidly obese. Does this make obesity a disease? Or do you just have different biological incentives and constraints than most people?
Nota - Posizione 25
OBESITÀ E MALATTIA
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 25
Thinness is still in your opportunity set, it just requires more effort
Nota - Posizione 25
SFORZO POSSIBILE
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 26
6. Insanity as Brain Disease
Nota - Posizione 26
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 27
it should be pointed out that it is extremely rare that insane behavior and brain states can be linked in such a way that everyone who e.g. has brain state X drinks too much.
Nota - Posizione 28
NN CORRELABILI CERVELLO E COMP.
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 30
I have yet to hear a brain researcher discuss endogeneity problems. What's the endogeneity problem? Well, if the brain state correlates with insane behavior, one may fairly ask: does the brain state cause the insane behavior, or does the insane behavior cause the brain state? Correlation alone does nothing to resolve this problem.
Nota - Posizione 33
NEUROSCIENZE:PROBLEMA ENDOGENO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 37
7. Conclusion
Nota - Posizione 37
TITOLO
Evidenzia (giallo) - Posizione 41
First, a lot of putative insanity is nothing more or less than the extreme tails of a preference distribution with high variance. Second, "insane" preferences seem to be as transitive as anyone else's. Third, some putatively insane people may have systematically biased beliefs, but so do lots of people regarded as perfectly sane. Fourth, a lot of the well-established links between biology and "behavorial disorders" boil down to unusual incentives and constraints. In sum, while other disciplines regard insanity as a puzzle to be explained, the economic way of thinking inclines me to wonder what the puzzle is.
Nota - Posizione 46
SOLUZIONE DELL ECONOMISTA: LA FOLLIA NN ESISTE

La rieducazione del criminale

Una società ideale rieduca i condannati? Deve farlo? Perché? Come? Funziona? Per abbozzare una risposta meglio partire dall’inizio.
I cattivi vanno scovati e puniti. In questo modo avremo meno cattivi in circolazione: a nessuno piace essere castigato. Si chiama “effetto deterrenza”, costituisce da sempre la funzione cardine della pena della pena.
Purtroppo, non sempre riusciamo a trovarli. Fortunatamente c’è una soluzione: possiamo inasprire le punizioni in modo da compensare la possibilità di farla franca.
Ma non è tutto: scovare i criminali è costoso. La soluzione ottima è non gettare molte risorse in attività costose: licenziamo la polizia e aumentiamo le pene, l’ “effetto deterrenza” resta garantito e le risorse risparmiate possono essere investite in nobili cause.
Nella società ideale “effetto deterrenza” e “rieducazione” coincidono: il criminale, dopo aver fatto i suoi conti, non pecca più.
Il ragionamento in sé non fa una piega. E certo, non è mio, è di Gary Becker, c’ha preso pure il Nobel.
crime
Purtroppo, nella realtà le cose non sembrano funzionare in questo modo, i criminali sono un po’ come i bambini: poco interessati al futuro, specie se lontano. E le eventuali pene sono collocate nel futuro, a volte molto lontano.
Chi ha problemi a gestire le emozioni e a frenare gli impulsi calcola male le conseguenze delle sue azioni.
Oltre una certa soglia esacerbare le pene riempie le prigioni piuttosto che creare deterrenza, e le prigioni sono l’ Università del crimine.
I criminali sono come bambini e nessuno di noi adotterebbe la soluzione economicamente ottimale per i bambini: meno controllo (con relativi risparmi) e punizioni più dure. E’ il modo migliore per crescere un criminale!
Di solito l’approccio coi bambini è diverso: regole chiare e coerenti con punizioni immediate a chi sgarra.
L’immediatezza serve a far cogliere l’associazione tra marachella e castigo.
La chiarezza serve a far sapere con certezza cos’è una marachella.
La coerenza serve a massimizzare la conoscenza con il minimo di esperienza (se so perché vengo punito quando rubo i biscotti so anche che verrò punito se rubo la torta, non c’è bisogno di sperimentarlo in prima persona).
I criminali sono bambinoni, per loro contare fino a dieci è decisivo: quando lo fanno i delitti si dimezzano. Ma se sono dei bambinoni forse con loro funziona la soluzione idonea per l’infanzia: punizioni lievi e regole chiare, coerenti e con applicazione immediata.
Ma come si traducono in concreto le considerazioni fatte finora? Per esempio così: leggi ben scritte favoriscono la chiarezza. Più polizia favorisce la coerenza. Migliori tribunali favoriscono l’immediatezza. Contare fino a dieci (terapia comportamentale) contrasta la recidiva.
Potremmo chiamare tutto cio’ “rieducazione” del criminale nella società ideale.
Quando uno pensa alla funzione rieducativa della pena pensa di solito a lezioncine civiche e reinserimenti. In realtà i criminali non sono proprio dei bambini, non trasciniamo troppo oltre la similitudine, sono in realtà dei “bambinoni”: e come si rieduca un “bambinone”? Ripeto:
1) Con leggi più chiare.
2) Con più polizia nelle strade.
3) Con tribunali più celeri.
4) Insegnando a contare fino a dieci.