In his 2023 bestseller, Determined, neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky argued that the interaction of biology and environment leaves no room for free choice. Philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris puts the case more bluntly: “free will is an illusion”.

However, prominent voices in psychology and the media have warned that telling people free will is an illusion is dangerous. The concern draws on a body of psychological research suggesting that when people’s belief in free will is undermined, the consequences can be troubling: more cheating, more aggression, less helpfulness.

But my recent research, including a new study published in the British Journal of Social Psychology, suggests this picture is incomplete and misleading. In fact, it shows that accepting free will is an illusion can reduce hatred and shame, and increase forgiveness.

Forgiveness, not chaos

Free will is commonly defined as the idea that people could have done otherwise in a moment of choice, free from the prior grip of genes, upbringing and circumstance. Crucially, this isn’t rescued by mere randomness, as a random act would be a matter of luck rather than an expression of free will.

Across two recent experiments, my colleague Brock Bastian and I exposed participants to arguments that free will doesn’t exist. We then measured how participants responded to real memories of........

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