RE: Do you believe in free will?
March 11, 2012 at 4:09 pm
(This post was last modified: March 11, 2012 at 4:13 pm by NoMoreFaith.)
(March 11, 2012 at 3:27 pm)whateverist Wrote: That depends on your definition of woo. Do think your 'you' is woo? Do you feel as though your sense of self is nothing but a ghost in the machine? If so, I'd really like to know exactly what this inner critic/analyst is, how your neural activity gives rise to it and what makes you regard it more highly than your ordinary woooey you.
Of course not, the illusion of free will is incredibly strong as we simply cannot conceive or sense the number of variables involved.
My sense of self is based upon my experiences (stored electrochemically) and to a certain extent some genetic factors. The entire point is that we can't conceive of the full extent of factors which govern a free will decision, but what I can promise which a high scale of probability is that none of it is magic.
Certainly I see nothing metaphysical in how we conceptualise ourselves as central to the universe, even if we are aware it is not the case. We persistently believe that we are in control of our senses, thoughts and feelings even where we know the universe is absolutely not.
But its pure egotistical thinking at its finest, that we are somehow an exception to the rules.
Or, I might be wrong. The advantage to the illusion of free will, is that I am free to continue in my delusions of being special.
(March 11, 2012 at 3:27 pm)whateverist Wrote: I guess that is kind of my point, that our actual free will ain't no big thing. Neither is the sense in which we are completely determined any big deal. It is naive to suppose you have complete independence from your underlying processes and also naive to desire that it was otherwise. But if you begin to doubt that 'you' are anything but unavoidable nose in the system which doesn't require you anyway .. then in my opinion you are the one who has passed over into wooo. Who is it that is having these thoughts or are they having you? Wooo wooo indeed.
Woooooooooo
You're stealing MY point That the illusion of free will, and the possibility of genuine free will independent from cause makes the question more or less meaningless.
Am I having these thoughts... well yes, these thoughts are a product of biochemical reactions and their interactions in a complex system of stored electrochemical memories, they are indeed me, and who I am. I find it amazing, and incredible, and frankly, its unnecessary to believe I am somehow mystically detached from it.
On the other hand, there is something extremely satisfying about saying Woooooooooo
Self-authenticating private evidence is useless, because it is indistinguishable from the illusion of it. ― Kel, Kelosophy Blog
If you’re going to watch tele, you should watch Scooby Doo. That show was so cool because every time there’s a church with a ghoul, or a ghost in a school. They looked beneath the mask and what was inside?
The f**king janitor or the dude who runs the waterslide. Throughout history every mystery. Ever solved has turned out to be. Not Magic. ― Tim Minchin, Storm
If you’re going to watch tele, you should watch Scooby Doo. That show was so cool because every time there’s a church with a ghoul, or a ghost in a school. They looked beneath the mask and what was inside?
The f**king janitor or the dude who runs the waterslide. Throughout history every mystery. Ever solved has turned out to be. Not Magic. ― Tim Minchin, Storm