(September 29, 2013 at 1:46 am)bennyboy Wrote: I suppose it depends what we mean by ALL those words. For example, what's an accidental interaction? Also, in what sense is instinct (which ultimately reduces down to purely environmental circumstances, mutation, etc.) separate from the current environment, except by time?
Not really. Agreeing upon what is meant by "accidental interaction" or "instinct" is easier than agreeing upon what is meant by free will.
(September 29, 2013 at 1:46 am)bennyboy Wrote: If we conceive of human agency, then we are saying that there is something about a human being which should be considered apart from everything else that is happening in the universe. So I'd define free will as that agency-- stipulating that it must be somehow separate from all that other business.
Like I said, what we mean by free-will are two different things. I can conceive of human agency as a part of the universe - not apart from it - and my conception of free-will doe not require it to be separate from the rest.
