(May 16, 2009 at 7:22 pm)Tiberius Wrote: Free will is the ability to make conscious decisions without them being deterministic. In other words, some decisions we make are not based on instinct but on actual active decision making in the brain.
If we rewound time to before a previous decision, a person would free will could change their decision. A person without free will would not be able to.
Personally I think free will exists, because it causes too many problems if it doesn't. Information appears out of nowhere; mathematical formula, inventions, books, etc were all predetermined at the beginning of time. It simply makes no sense.
Hmmm, well I find the subject of free will incredibly interesting....
The way I seem to understand it (and I don't expect to be right because I don't know much on the subject really, but I am yet to understand it differently yet) is that determinism DOES imply NO free will...but INdeterminism doesn't necessarily imply free will.
If everything is determined there can be no choices.
If things aren't determined then it could all be a matter of quantum probability and physics - we don't necessarily choose what thoughts to have and how to effect stuff...it could just happen that way and then we BELIEVE that 'WE' are 'doing it' and take credit for it ourselves....
I mean thoughts happen in the brain. What you think about effects your decisions...but what about your thoughts? Did you 'choose' THEM? And if not, then how could you have really 'MADE' a decision with free will if the decisions come from thoughts that you had no 'power over' they just happened in your brain because of genetic and environmental reasons, etc?
If thoughts choose decisions and you can't choose thoughts, how can you choose? And if you DO choose thoughts...what with? More thoughts? In which case they're not choices because they all stem from some original thought(s) that you had no power in the matter or choice over..
Hmm.
EvF
