We reply that the will is not free; and that if it were free man could not know right from wrong until he was taught.
As to the knowledge of good and evil the free will party will claim that conscience is an unerring guide. But I have already proved that conscience does not and cannot tell us what is right and what is wrong: it only reminds us of the lessons we have learnt as to right and wrong.
The "still small voice" is not the voice of God: it is the voice of heredity and environment.
And now to the freedom of the will.
When a man says his will is free, he means that it is free of all control or interference: that it can over-rule heredity and environment.
We reply that the will is ruled by heredity and environment.
The cause of all the confusion on this subject may be shown in a few words.
When the free will party say that man has a free will, they mean that he is free to act as he chooses to act.
There is no need to deny that. But what causes him to choose?
That is the pivot upon which the whole discussion turns.