Full responsibility for one’s actions is a necessary fictio… - Matt Ridley

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Full responsibility for one’s actions is a necessary fiction without which the law would flounder, but it is a fiction all the same. To the extent that you act in character you are responsible for your actions; yet acting in character is merely expressing the many determinisms that caused your character.

Matt Ridley

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About Matt Ridley

Matthew White Ridley, 5th Viscount Ridley, DL, FRSL, FMedSci (born 7 February 1958), usually known as Matt Ridley, is a British journalist who has written several popular science books. He is also a businessman and a Conservative member of the House of Lords.

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Also Known As

Alternative Names: Matthew Ridley, 5th Viscount Ridley • Hon. Matthew White Ridley • Matthew White Ridley, 5th Viscount Ridley • Dr M W Ridley • Matthew White Ridley

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Edward O. Wilson Stephen Jay Gould Edward O. Wilson Richard Dawkins Charles Darwin

Additional quotes by Matt Ridley

Just as we underestimate the degree to which human brains rely upon instincts, so we have generally underestimated the degree to which other animals are capable of learning.

TP53 seems to encode the greater good, like a suicide pill in the mouth of a soldier that dissolves only when it detects evidence that he is about to mutiny.

Life is a slippery thing to define, but it consists of two very different skills: the ability to replicate, and the ability to create order.

Full responsibility for one’s actions is a necessary fiction without which the law would flounder, but it is a fiction all the same. To the extent th… - Matt Ridley

About Matt Ridley

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Works in ChatGPT, Claude, or Any AI