GUIDE TO THE PHILOSOPHY 1938 - 1947.pdf - Rare Books at ...

THE PROBLEM OF FREE WILL
between innate characteristics and acquired is, therefore,
a false one. Strictly what one inherits are not character*
istics at all, but certain material which, given certain
conditions! will produce certain characteristics.
The scheme, it is obvious> is a purely deterministic one.
It is not deterministic in the sense that what the indi-
vidual will become is preordained by die supply of genes
which he gets from his parents; it is deterministic in the
sense that what he will become is the result of a complex
constituted by this initial supply and the environment in
which he develops, for neither ofwhich can he be considered
responsible.
The Case of Identical Twins. Thus the character-
istics of the organism are, on this view, determined by the
germinal material which he inherits, the nature of this
material being in its turn determined by the characteristics
ofthe parents. The characteristics of the parents are derived
from those of the species to which they belong, and those
of the species to which they belong are in the last resort
determined by the influence of the external physical
environment on the species. And if it be objected that
mental events lie outside the confines of this scheme, and
that nobody has yet been able to locate the inspiration of
a poet in a chromosome, those who advocate deterministic
views might concede that this may be so. '
One's
view on this question depends', they would say, 'upon
the attitude one takes to Materialism in general and to
the Mind-Body problem in particular. We cannot as yet
of the
prow that mind is only a function or a by-product
body. 9
Nevertheless, although absolute proof is agreed to
be lacking, they would point to the impressive weight of
evidence in favour of the view that mental no less than
bodily characteristics are determined by genetical constitution.
Evidence of a very striking kind pointing to this con*
elusion has recently been afforded by some investigations
into the characters of identical twins. Some years ago
Professor Lange, with the help of the Bavarian Ministry