# Retribution Conflicts With a Scientific View of Behavior by Richard Dawkins > “Retribution as a moral principle is incompatible with a scientific view of human behaviour. As scientists, we believe that human brains, though they may not work in the same way as man-made computers, are as surely governed by the laws of physics. When a computer malfunctions, we do not punish it. We track down the problem and fix it, usually by replacing a damaged component, either in hardware or software.” > **— Richard Dawkins**, *“Let’s All Stop Beating Basil’s Car,” Edge Annual Question, 2006* ## Sources and Context - **Original or near-original source:** [“Let’s All Stop Beating Basil’s Car,” Edge Annual Question, 2006](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11416) — Dawkins argues against retribution through a mechanistic account of behavior; this is his moral argument, not a proposal for genetic remediation. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/There Is Nothing More Natural Than Murder|There Is Nothing More Natural Than Murder]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Determinism|Determinism]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Determinism|Determinism]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Retribution as a moral principle is incompatible with a scientific view of human behaviour. As scientists, we believe that human brains, though they may not work in the same way as man-made computers, are as surely governed by the laws of physics. When a computer malfunctions, we do not punish it. We track down the problem and fix it, usually by replacing a damaged component, either in hardware or software.” — Richard Dawkins, “Let’s All Stop Beating Basil’s Car,” Edge Annual Question, 2006 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-richard-dawkins-retribution-scientific-behavior ```