RE: Do you believe in free will?
March 13, 2012 at 8:06 am
(This post was last modified: March 13, 2012 at 8:06 am by NoMoreFaith.)
(March 13, 2012 at 7:35 am)genkaus Wrote: What is being ignored here, in my opinion, is that every neuron that fired was a part of the agent himself. It was a complex and intricate play in which one part directed the other and vice versa, to the extent the result was practically free from the external input. In this case, without the involvement of magical entities such as a soul or spirit or god, we can show the practical expression of free-will.
I think you're right that religious Free Will, and philosophical Free Will are defined in different ways, and we are both rejecting a supernatural entity of our will, that it is determined through naturalistic sources.
I asked a question earlier on in this which may allow me insight into how you are considering the issue, which I hope you'll answer, as I am by no means definite about my views, and I'd like to consider your version further.
I'll get to the question in a second, but I'll outline my "presuppositions" first.
Let's play God and pause time for one second;
The universe can only be changed in a limited number of ways.
1) Changing the current or past state of the universe in this instant we have paused.
2) Changing the fundamental laws of the universe that dictate how the universe progresses from one instant to another.
In my view, changing 1 or 2 requires supernatural means (potentially technology sufficiently advanced as to appear magical).
You were created by the causal events of the universe leading up to this point. You lack the ability to change either premise 1 or 2 of the universe therefore you lack the ability to change the future of the universe.
In order to prove free will, I believe that either a supernatural 3rd cause (which I dismiss) or a problem with the 2 assumptions I have made about causal events.
So the question is thus; At what point were you able to exert a force upon the universe that changes the future. Was it at conception? The sensory development in the womb? The formation of the ego?
This may also go some way to display my own definition of free will, that any illusion of changing causal event, is merely that.. a pure illusion of the mind.
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
