(December 15, 2014 at 1:20 pm)IATIA Wrote:(December 15, 2014 at 5:22 am)ManMachine Wrote: ... it is our belief in free will (unique in the animal kingdom) that keeps us mentally separated from other animals.I disagree with that statement.
First, there seems to no agreement on exactly what free will is.
I live out in the sticks and we have acquired cats through various drop offs and wanderings. IMHO, these cats demonstrate personalities and free will that appears indistinguishable from humans. This is not to suggest that their awareness is or is not at the same level.
I have argued in the past as unsuccessfully as everyone else on my opinion relating to free will.
The biggest problem is that I do not know myself if I truly have free will, which makes it hard to argue against someone else's opinion.
My personal dichotomy is either 'free will' is 100% biochemical responses or 100% external to the body (which leads into a whole nother discussion). This is, if any awareness is not 100% controlled/created by the biochemical processes of the body, there is no reason to believe that 100% of my awareness cannot be separate from the body. (And that again leads into a whole nother discussion).
You are quite correct in that there is no universal definition of Free Will, but I said "... it is our belief in free will..." and since when did a poorly defined concept stop humans believing in it?
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)
