(January 27, 2015 at 6:42 pm)Creed of Heresy Wrote: As far as the concept of free will in philosophical terms goes... Frankly, I don't care about that. I can only operate in the realm in which I perceive. I no more consider the existence of predetermination or the possibility I am a brain in a jar in a lab somewhere than I try to visualize what a world made of eleven dimensions looks like.
Cogito ergo sum. That's good enough for me.
You know, part of me agrees with this sentiment and part of me is entirely too curious to simply dismiss predeterminaiton as unimportant.
I agree with rasetsu's comment that it's unlikely that the free will debate will become settled anytime soon, but I also think that it's important to recognize that the science is piling up more and more against free will. As Creed pointed out, there are many parts of the brain that the consciousness has no control over, and it has become quite established that our thoughts and decisions are highly dependent upon and constrained by our brain structure.
I admit that I lean towards determinism, so this may be my bias talking. But I think that the scientific evidence lays the onus of the argument on the proponents of free will.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
