RE: Free Will
October 13, 2015 at 12:59 pm
(This post was last modified: October 13, 2015 at 1:13 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
It actually makes only a minor difference as to whether or not determinism holds either. If hard determinism holds, we don't have it, but if determinism (hard or soft) doesn't hold...we can't confidently proclaim the opposite. Even if it were all random, if it was -possible- to know a future state in that random universe, if a future state had a set truth value as a matter of fact divorced from any previous circumstance or condition.....we still don't have it (fatalism, ofc).
Fatalism -must be- true if determinism is true, but fatalism -can be- true even if determinism is false. In either case, there's no free will, but the universes that could be described with either term might be night and day different from each other. The breadth of the field -against- free will is very, very wide. The path through that field, leading to an actualized free will, is narrow. A universe which contains free will would be an excruciatingly specific universe, it would be a universe in which a future state was -actually unknowable-. If our will were free, we could not know an outcome until after the fact. Any prior knowledge of a future state's truth value is a clear and inarguable indication of a limit on the "freedom" of will. Our ability to predict human behavior and decision-making, even to coerce it overtly, covertly, systematically, and repeatedly... shows us that while our will may be actualized (whatever it may be made of), it's freedom is not. If free will exists, it's demonstrably ineffective, and that's as generous as I can be, personally, regarding the conjecture.
Fatalism -must be- true if determinism is true, but fatalism -can be- true even if determinism is false. In either case, there's no free will, but the universes that could be described with either term might be night and day different from each other. The breadth of the field -against- free will is very, very wide. The path through that field, leading to an actualized free will, is narrow. A universe which contains free will would be an excruciatingly specific universe, it would be a universe in which a future state was -actually unknowable-. If our will were free, we could not know an outcome until after the fact. Any prior knowledge of a future state's truth value is a clear and inarguable indication of a limit on the "freedom" of will. Our ability to predict human behavior and decision-making, even to coerce it overtly, covertly, systematically, and repeatedly... shows us that while our will may be actualized (whatever it may be made of), it's freedom is not. If free will exists, it's demonstrably ineffective, and that's as generous as I can be, personally, regarding the conjecture.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
