Abstract

The old debate on the freedom of will has gained new momentum. From the neuroscientific and even from the legal perspective it is argued that the concept of freedom should be abandoned. But such a step would change central concepts not only in penal law but in nearly all legal areas. This calls for a closer look at whether the scientific results available today really do inevitably necessitate such a fundamental change. The outcome of such a scrutiny is sobering because those results are far from supporting that abolitionist position. Freedom of will is not refuted by neuroscience, even not by the experiments of Libet. We therefore should not rush to deconstruct our legal system.