BATESON: Quite properly we worry about deprivation and maltreatment in early life because such experiences can lead to all sorts of social problems. At the same time, when we look at the human population as a whole, a lot of people who have bad experiences early in life end up all right. These people tend to be outgoing and tend bright. The point is, though, that bad experiences don't always lead to bad outcomes. When we look at the biology of development, one of the striking things about it is the remarkable capacity of the individual to get back on track. After you have been ill and stopped growing, you may bounce right back to where you would have been without illness. A lot of that kind of resilience, and a lot of the capacity to get to the same end point by different routes, seem to be very much a characteristic of development, and something that is part of good design.

JB: Where do you stand regarding the notion of free will versus determinism.

BATESON: A current debate is whether speculation about the evolution of human behavior affects our attitude to the responsibility we have for own actions. Some people claim, for example that rape is an alternative male strategy for increasing reproductive success. If they are right, does it follow that rapists had no option and we should not condemn their behavior? Similarly, as we discover more about the way the brain works, we may come to believe that all behavior is pre-programmed. There is nothing we can do about it and are stuck with the way we are wired up. It seems to follow that, therefore, the notion of responsibility disappears. This is baloney.

Whatever else might be believed about the evolution of human behavior, a major change was likely to have been the expansion of our capacity for planning. We are able to consider alternative actions without moving a muscle. That characteristic is so important in making decisions that it is bound to affect the way we weigh up different courses of action. Since most humans are capable of planning, they weigh up the consequences of what they might do. This is the basis for criminal law. We should not introduce a plea of diminished responsibility as soon as somebody does something which is claimed to be "natural". We should recognize that if the person has a capacity to make decisions about alternative courses of action, they can consider the consequences. They will not do certain things which others regard as repellent because they know that if they do, they may get clobbered. The onus of proof must lie with those who believe in diminished responsibility. The starting position in a rape case should be that most rapists know that if they are caught they will be put in prison. In my view, an understanding of the biology of behavior reinstates free will, it does not take it away.