(December 15, 2014 at 4:15 am)The_greatest_river Wrote: What do you think?
That all depends on what you mean.
IMO, there is no such thing as free will in the traditional sense, but it is a vital and necessary social conceit. Individual values do not lead to social morality, in order for there to be some common starting point we take the concept of free will as our base assumption, this makes everyone responsible for their own actions and enables social control systems to function (religion, law, etc.).
We continue to be horrified at the actions of our fellow humans, shocking behaviour leads us call the perpetrators 'animals', the reality is we are animals, and it is our belief in free will (unique in the animal kingdom) that keeps us mentally separated from other animals.
MM
"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions" - Leonardo da Vinci
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
