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I agree.Some people have to believe that there is such a thing as free will, but I choose not to believe it.
Given a certain definition of it then yes.Do you think free will exists?
Why should that reduce my freedom. I did something freely is I was not compelled (against my will) to do it. So even if I was caused to like ice cream, because I chose it without compulsion (I may have been caused, but not against my will), I did so freely.If yes, how does it exist if cause and effect determines everything?
Some people say that certain quantum mechanical phenomena are uncaused, but thats not really important to the compatiblist.If you do not think cause and effect determines everything, then give an example.
Could you define your use of "free will" for purposes of this thread, please?Do you think free will exists?
Do you think free will exists?
And you'll have to forgive me for not forgiving you, because ... Well, you will get the idea if you want to, and could not do otherwise.If it doesn't exist, then I'll forgive you for asking the question, since you couldn't help yourself - just as you must forgive me since I can't help but believe in it.
If yes, how does it exist if cause and effect determines everything?
If you do not think cause and effect determines everything, then give an example.
Do you think free will exists?
If yes, how does it exist if cause and effect determines everything?
If you do not think cause and effect determines everything, then give an example.
I agree there is still much to learn regarding consciousness. Whether consciousness is an emergent property that rises from physical activities of the brain(as sort of a projector of consciousness), or the brain is a receptor of consciousness from some external source. Either way I do not think that free will can emerge.I think this all hinges on whether or not the sub-conscious is truly "separate" from the conscious mind. We indulge and embellish in our sub-conscious constantly throughout the day without truly realizing it. We daydream, create imagery, meditate, etc. These are all instances when our conscious minds access our sub-conscious thought process. It's only when we're asleep that we are fully embraced in raw sub-conscious, and if we have a lucid dream then we become truly "free" in the purest sense of the word.
So it becomes a question of whether or not we're in control over our sub-conscious selves, and how deep does the connection run between conscious awareness and sub-conscious brain activity. I'm inclined to believe that there's some sort of "balance" between free will and determinism. We have deterministic genetic predisposition, but at the same time we can "choose" which path to follow.
Avoidability and evitability do not necessarily equate to free will. While we as humans can increase our evitability as we evolve, things are still determined. We learn to avoid things based on our previous experiences, and we may fine tune this evitablity with fantastic precision. Even if we had the ability to manipulate all the laws of physics, it would happen as a result of causallity.It also depends on what is truly considered to be "inevitable" in someone's life. Inevitable simply means "unavoidable". As a species we have become more consciously aware of our surroundings, our environment, and certain situations have become more "evitable". We are able to "avoid" more deterministic fates than previous generations as we constantly learn and adapt.
Your "will" is formed by prior conditions: genetics and environment. Therefore, you were determined to like ice cream, no free will involved.Why should that reduce my freedom. I did something freely is I was not compelled (against my will) to do it. So even if I was caused to like ice cream, because I chose it without compulsion (I may have been caused, but not against my will), I did so freely.
Ok I think this should do:Could you define your use of "free will" for purposes of this thread, please?
FREE WILL- freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention.-FreeWill/Merriam-Webster.com
This study actually shows that volition is the result of neuronal activity in the brain. Neuronal activity fires off according to your genetic makeup and how your life experiences have formed your neural net.Free will does exist, and neuroscientists may have found its location within the human brain:
Possible site of free will found in brain - life - 07 May 2009 - New Scientist
The parietal cortex. This is where our volition is supposed to occur.
Free will, or at least the place where we decide to act...
The title of the article referring to free will was probably just to catch peoples attention."I can't think of any way you can have conscious experience other than as a result of neurons in your brain firing."
The problem is, your will and desires come from your genetics and environmental experiences, no free will involved.In compatibilist free will, IMO it matters whether *you*, and especially the mental parts of *you* such as your desires, have a significant impact on what eventually happens. If you can act in accordance with your desires, then that is a free will choice. If you can't then it is not, in fact you might have to act against your will.
A good litmus test is the consideration if a (counterfactual) different desire, would have lead to different actions: "I could have acted differently, had I only wanted to."
The quantum and random stuff just gets us in more trouble when talking about free will. If decisions are the result of some random quantum fluctuation, then it was not us that did it at all. Also those random fluctuations may cause us to do something that has nothing to do or is not consistant with what we call our will. For all we know a fluctuation could cause us to go committ mass murder out of the blue.Well, there is this quantum stuff. And radioactive decay. And while I am not that big on science, I know that the term true randomness is constantly heard in connection with these two.
However, when it comes to the makro world and thoughts about free will etc, I think these are negligible.
Thanks. I have a better idea now, but I still have problems understanding this concept.Ok I think this should do:
(I´ll skip the "divine intervention" part because I am not a theist.)FREE WILL- freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention.-FreeWill/Merriam-Webster.com
To me it seems that the mere fact that the place where our volition is supposed to occur can be identified (and possibly even the mechanism can be explained) is not exactly suggesting the conclusion that we are free in our decisions. Rather the opposite.Free will does exist, and neuroscientists may have found its location within the human brain:
Possible site of free will found in brain - life - 07 May 2009 - New Scientist
The parietal cortex. This is where our volition is supposed to occur.
Note that a compatiblist thinks that free will is compatible with a deterministic universe.Your "will" is formed by prior conditions: genetics and environment. Therefore, you were determined to like ice cream, no free will involved.
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