(May 16, 2025 at 6:28 pm)John 6IX Breezy Wrote: But of course, the problem with those who oppose free will is that they just handwave things like this as illusions.
This is why I think the burden of proof falls on the determinists, since they have to demonstrate why appearances are incorrect.
From a neurocognitive point of view, our brains have executive functions which can pass for free will of a limited kind, and our brains are an essential part of us from a materialistic point of view. But many atheists still object to using the concept of free will, which has religious connotations to some people. So perhaps we should be talking about top-down and bottom-up causation.
And just to be clear, there are both emergent materialists and determinists within atheistic ranks. Atheists don't agree with each other on a number of issues.
