RE: The workings of woo
December 10, 2014 at 9:15 am
(This post was last modified: December 10, 2014 at 9:17 am by watchamadoodle.)
(December 10, 2014 at 12:35 am)Alex K Wrote: That which you describe is the usual deterministic scenario, isn't it. However, I don't think whether or not the universe is fundamentally deterministic has much to do with how we experience ourselves or it,, to come back to your meditation question - I believe it'll be the same whether there is true randomness or not. Free will at that level is an illusion either way. This feeling of detached observation of self which you describe has something to do with brain function I'm sure, less with fundamental questions of determinism. If you're interested, you should read up on the different concepts of free will, as should I one day
I think it's a little different from determinism. Determinism says that if you had a perfect knowledge of the present state then you have perfect knowledge of the future state. What I'm suggesting is a story where the future is composed whimsically by an omniscient author who then changes perspective to experience the story more fully. So unlike determinism, there may be be multiple possible futures for any present state, but one future has already been written. It seems like we are making choices, but actually we are just characters in a story.
I agree that in meditation the detachment is probably simply awareness of a different level of processing in our brains through quieting the normal level.
I need to find a good book on free will. I bought one but it was a struggle to read and I gave up.
