Yeah, exactly.
In speculation, the freedom seems to exist. But in the actual mechanics of choosing, I don't think we could choose anything except what we chose. There was always only one choice for us.
The downside of this argument is that people then say that no one can be held responsible for anything. I disagree. Regardless of whether free will exists or not, I believe that people need to be held accountable to their actions. Just because we can suppose that no one is free doesn't mean that anyone can rape and murder whoever they want.
Or perhaps the belief in free will was constructed to keep us from losing all control. Without free will we might do anything, suddenly not bound by rules, because we tell ourselves, we aren't free. But if we believe we are free, then we will feel guilty if we do something wrong, which is a necessity to the successful functioning of our society. The fact that we can actually speculate on free will might be just another reason why we are more intelligent than the animals.
In speculation, the freedom seems to exist. But in the actual mechanics of choosing, I don't think we could choose anything except what we chose. There was always only one choice for us.
The downside of this argument is that people then say that no one can be held responsible for anything. I disagree. Regardless of whether free will exists or not, I believe that people need to be held accountable to their actions. Just because we can suppose that no one is free doesn't mean that anyone can rape and murder whoever they want.
Or perhaps the belief in free will was constructed to keep us from losing all control. Without free will we might do anything, suddenly not bound by rules, because we tell ourselves, we aren't free. But if we believe we are free, then we will feel guilty if we do something wrong, which is a necessity to the successful functioning of our society. The fact that we can actually speculate on free will might be just another reason why we are more intelligent than the animals.
"I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability." Oscar Wilde
My Blog | Why I Don't Believe in God
My Blog | Why I Don't Believe in God
