RE: If free will was not real
July 30, 2016 at 9:09 pm
(This post was last modified: July 30, 2016 at 9:12 pm by bennyboy.)
(July 30, 2016 at 2:12 pm)RozKek Wrote: Even expressing your intent as behavior is ultimately not under your control. And even by your definition of free will, it doesn't exist. Your personhood is not under your control either, that is also in the causal chain/determined or random. Sure, no one is holding a gun to your head, but that's not what we're all talking about. That's not the relevant free will. The "big" free will people generally talk about or think about is whether or not our decisions etc are ultimately under out control.The personhood doesn't NEED to be under control, because will is the expression of that personhood's intent. Even intent itself doesn't need to be free-- it is the capacity to express intent that may/may not be free.
You're right. There are some people who have religious or philosophical views of free will such that a sentient agent can at least to a degree transcend physical limitations. I'm agnostic on whether such a thing is true. HOWEVER, I'd argue that "magical" self would still be part of a bigger causal framework. For example, in a Christian framework, God has created people according to their various natures, and their personhood, therefore, is not under their control anyway.
Quote:Yet again, your expression of the self isn't under your control either. Your definition is either irrelevant or nonsensical. You have a will, yes. Your will is the expression of the self, yes. But it's not free. Simply put, you have a will, that is your expression of the self, but your will is not free and that makes your expression of the self not free.Sure it's free. Nobody is either compelling me or preventing me from expressing my will according to my nature as a person.
