Do you believe in free will?

[genkaus]

It requires a will, a level of cognition...so, you mean some sort of "brain" eh? Back to square one. I've been trying to get this across the entire time. That "will" free or otherwise, is an effect. Let's up the ante, worms have a very simple brain. Do worms have free will? Or do they "do what their will tells them to do", their will being a set of simple reactions to external and internal stimuli?

I'd say no, because it is not just "some" sort of brain, but a specific sort of brain which is capable of cognition, i.e. the ability to conceptualize. I'm not sure, but I don't think that worm-brains are complex enough to form concepts.

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No problem, I misunderstood you (anything to remove opportunity for diversion), still wondering about free will though, and whether or not we're ever going to see a demonstration. Also wondering about my worms, and their free will. You don't actually have to tell me about worms, could cut to the chase and point to which creature could be the first to be said to have a free will, on the branching ladder of neurological complexity.

Demonstration - I'm writing this post. I consider that an expression of my free-will because the causes external to me are insufficient to constraint me to write it.

As for the neurological complexity part, I think we've had this discussion somewhere. I cannot point to a specific level or find a line of demarcation. Here's a list according to my current understanding.

Humans - Yes.
Other great apes - Yes.
Dolphins - Yes.
Octopuses -Yes.
Elephants - Yes.
Dogs - Maybe yes.
Cats - Maybe yes.
Birds - Dunno.
Fish - Dunno.
Bears - Dunno.
Rats - Maybe No.
Ants - No.
Snakes - No.

and so on. As you may notice, most of the animals would come under "dunno".