RE: If free will was not real
July 29, 2016 at 4:07 pm
(This post was last modified: July 29, 2016 at 4:37 pm by quip.)
(July 29, 2016 at 3:37 pm)bennyboy Wrote:(July 29, 2016 at 1:35 pm)quip Wrote: The same problem persists. Freedom of the will is contingent upon external circumstances (the absence or existence thereof). You're simply offering up anecdotal examples of the former; not an adequate argument for freewill writ large.
I'm not sure why interactions with one's environment are equivalent to compulsion. I've defined will as the capacity to manifest intent in the world. Obviously, in order for one to FORM intent, one has to have been affected by the world at some point.
But that's what personhood is: it's the sum total of all the internal influences, including feelings, memories, etc. Obviously, if I had never eaten ice cream, I would be unlikely to seek it in a store. But that doesn't matter-- at the moment of selection, nothing is compelling me except my own nature.
Any action you propose to take remains contingent upon a near infinite set of circumstances. The very capacity to exist, to facilitate a conscious will itself was brought about by action of your biological parents (beyond your control/influence). Likewise all willed action hitherto; conditions anterior to your decision to enjoy ice cream exist far beyond your past experiences of it. This can hardly be considered "free" ....perhaps only in the limited, proximate sense.