(November 18, 2014 at 9:45 am)Lemonvariable72 Wrote:Does it rob us of agency, or of the illusion of agency? I think that's the philosophical question behind all of this.(November 18, 2014 at 9:30 am)Pickup_shonuff Wrote: I don't understand the rationale of hating another person, no matter how disagreeable their words or actions are, when their present conduct is but merely a reflection of personal history and environment. Oftentimes I read failure in a society that produces the "monster" or the bigot rather than lay the blame squarely on the monster or the bigot themselves.I disagree. I think to say that robs a person of their agency. The only choice we have ever is how we react to a given situation. As for the rationale for hatred of people, people are often narrow minded, greedy, shallow and judgemental. All of those are traits worthy of contempt.
If we can confirm that all thoughts and behaviors are deterministic, then agency is really just a label for certain categories of brain function; it's hard to feel moral outrage in this case, or to build a legal system that focuses on the repayment of evil with punishment (aka righteous evil).
If, however, free will is true, then it seems likely to be a paradox-- where could free will come from? Even God must act according to his own nature-- he could never do what it is not already in his nature to do; how is God even free, in an absolute sense? How much so for the rest of us?
