(October 23, 2012 at 6:40 pm)whateverist Wrote: So long as they are our fears and desires which inform our choices, how is that not free?If our fears and desires are ultimately determined by entirely external and unconscious sources, how is that free?
Quote:Are our fears and desires external to our wills?I wouldn't say so, at least not particularly. Would you say they were?
Quote:If our wills must function completely independently of fears and desires in order to be deemed "free", it is hard to imagine for what purpose we would ever 'will' anything.Our wills don't function "completely independently of our fears or desires." They are largely influenced by them, but if our fears and desires are ultimately entirely determined by external and unconscious sources, once again, how is that free?
Quote:It comes back again to what exactly the 'will' is and is not, a very murky area.
I would say that someone's 'will' is their conscious motivation. Do you have a problem with that definition? If you do, what is it?
