(March 14, 2012 at 10:57 am)Rhythm Wrote: How does having a sense of self make something free from external stimuli btw? Sounds like an assumption to me, and a fuzzy one at that.
By providing a greater level of awareness and generation of internal stimuli.
To be clear - if the actions of an organism are only dependent upon external factors, i.e. its awareness of things external to it - then it cannot have free-will.
With the sense of self comes the awareness of one's own actions, thoughts etc. This additional awareness makes those actions dependent on more than simply external stimuli - thus making them relatively free from them
(March 14, 2012 at 10:57 am)Rhythm Wrote: Also, if internal stimuli are similarly bound by causality/determinism (such as neurological activity and biochemistry)...then what is the difference as far as free will is concerned between external and internal stimuli, other than the obvious? Why does it deserve "special consideration"?
None, other than the obvious. But the question of free-will is usually asked while determining responsibility of one's actions and the role of one's "will" in those actions. For that determination, it must be defined what constitutes a "will".
