RE: Is Moral Responsibility Compatible With Determinism?
May 31, 2019 at 11:56 am
(This post was last modified: May 31, 2019 at 12:16 pm by vulcanlogician.)
(May 31, 2019 at 8:19 am)Alan V Wrote: I obviously need to read more about philosophy at some point.
If determinism is a metaphysical theory, then determinists should have no problem acknowledging another metaphysical theory. However, in my experience determinists seem to have a hard time acknowledging emergentism as an alternative. Why is that, if they don't think determinism is inherent to materialism?
From my point of view, free will decisions depend on reasoning, which in turn depends on the symbolic processing of information in human brains. What law of cause and effect does the symbolic processing of information violate? As far as I can see, none at all. Material cause and effect still works perfectly well at its own level of complexity, and nothing changes that when you add a much greater level of complexity and free will is possible. As I pointed out with my abacus analogy, nothing changes the material properties of the beads. Their new properties emerge because of the meanings attributed to their relative positions, so meanings require relationships between multiple beads. The movements of the beads are still materially caused, even while the answers they provide are derived by their symbolic attributes. At minimum, two different levels are involved, not just one. The rules of one level simply don't apply to the rules of another, when much more complexity is involved.
It's like the different between making meaningless noises and making music. Music emerges from the relationships between the notes and instruments, whereas random noises have no intentional relationships.
You don't need to read more philosophy. And determinists don't have any issues with looking at alternative theories. You are missing just one key point.
In order for you to choose freely, you have to have within you the power to change reality. The question is: how? How do you have the power to change reality?
Your brain?
Your brain is made of matter. All matter obeys the laws of physics. When you have a thought, all that is is a set of neurons firing. They do this as a response to external and internal stimuli. There is no homunculus inside your brain calling the shots. As far as we know, there is no immaterial soul that calls the shots either. It's all stimulus response. It's all matter interacting with matter (as far as we know).
The brain does not have the power to change reality. The brain itself does not control which neurons fire. It merely transfers messages from one part to another. It's all neurons firing in the precise way that the laws of physics say they should fire. That doesn't allow the brain to change reality.
If your answer to the question of free will is "brains." You need to answer how brains can change reality.
I guess another way of looking at the brain is like it is a lightning rod. Sure, when lightening hits a lightning rod it runs currents of electricity this way and that way. But the lightning rod doesn't control any of that. It all has to do with its structure which way the electricity goes. The lightning rod isn't "choosing."
What is a brain but an intricate complex if mini "lightning rods" called neurons?
