Making a Choice

"they chose to do that" implies that the person doing the behaviour is in control of their actions at the time the action occurred.

Scientific research would say that this is not the case.

There are a number of reasons why.

Our actions, our behaviours are only possible becasue of the environment we are in, at the time the behaviour occurs.

The environment looks like it supports a number of options for the person. Options they could have taken, different options.

But the option they took was the 'right' one for them, based on a prediction that their brain made, based on all the other times they had been in a similar situation.

There was, would never have been, any other choice than the one they made.

The choice was made for them, by everything that had gone before and what was in front of them at the time.

For them to make a different choice, they have to have not only the options within the environment, but also a different backstory that influences their prediction of what is 'right' for them.