RE: If free will was not real
August 5, 2016 at 6:47 am
(This post was last modified: August 5, 2016 at 7:00 am by The Grand Nudger.)
I think it's easy to miss the relevance of the subject to areas that -are- important to us because it;s a background process, regardless of whether or not it's free. Out of sight, out of mind, as it were.
How we treat prisoners, for example, is intrinsically tied to a notion of will that may be folklore. Turn that one around in your mouth. We're effectively convicting people on murder charges by means of witchcraft, and then using yet more witchcraft to justify our treatment of those people, at the moment, lol. Do we recondition them? No. We punish them for what they freely willed to do. That one easy though, right? How about a failing student? Do we recondition that student, or do we punish them for freely willing to be a jackass in class? Trouble with the wife? Is she just a freely willing bitch..or is it possible that the dysfunction in our relationship is an issue of conditioned response....and can we change it, if we wanted to? Tired of making consistently poor decisions? Are you just a dummy with a shitty free willer.........or could that situation be improved? Need to market a product? Is there some way to deeply compel a consumer to buy? Need to kill an abusive industry, say smokes...is there some way to deeply compel a consumer to avoid a purchase? How to best get your candidate elected? How to best defeat your political opposition? Managing the flow of traffic? Military training and tactics? Early childhood development and "proper" parenting of toddlers? AI research...........?
Find me some area where a better and more accurate understanding of will, free or otherwise - and the subsequent human behaviors it is expressed as -wouldn't- be important (or fun)? We're basically asking the question "why do we decide to do what we do, and how do we do that". That;s why I, personally, don;t see any use (let alone sense) in trying to define our way -around- a problem, manufacturing a free will - reason in reverse (rationalization, ret-conning), rather than accepting things for what they are and working -from- there to wherever it leads.
How we treat prisoners, for example, is intrinsically tied to a notion of will that may be folklore. Turn that one around in your mouth. We're effectively convicting people on murder charges by means of witchcraft, and then using yet more witchcraft to justify our treatment of those people, at the moment, lol. Do we recondition them? No. We punish them for what they freely willed to do. That one easy though, right? How about a failing student? Do we recondition that student, or do we punish them for freely willing to be a jackass in class? Trouble with the wife? Is she just a freely willing bitch..or is it possible that the dysfunction in our relationship is an issue of conditioned response....and can we change it, if we wanted to? Tired of making consistently poor decisions? Are you just a dummy with a shitty free willer.........or could that situation be improved? Need to market a product? Is there some way to deeply compel a consumer to buy? Need to kill an abusive industry, say smokes...is there some way to deeply compel a consumer to avoid a purchase? How to best get your candidate elected? How to best defeat your political opposition? Managing the flow of traffic? Military training and tactics? Early childhood development and "proper" parenting of toddlers? AI research...........?
Find me some area where a better and more accurate understanding of will, free or otherwise - and the subsequent human behaviors it is expressed as -wouldn't- be important (or fun)? We're basically asking the question "why do we decide to do what we do, and how do we do that". That;s why I, personally, don;t see any use (let alone sense) in trying to define our way -around- a problem, manufacturing a free will - reason in reverse (rationalization, ret-conning), rather than accepting things for what they are and working -from- there to wherever it leads.
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!
