jakelafort

Pope,

The issue of free will is related to core questions of our existence.

What are we? Is our sense of self an illusion? Dualism seems to creep into every thought and utterance related to self. “Oh my body is really achy after that strenuous workout.” But where are you? Where am I? Just WHERE am I? What does self mean? If you’ve ever…[Read more]

More i think about more convinced that those persuaded by notion we have free will are either ignorant in that they’ve never truly pondered the issues or have succumbed to that same narcissism driving belief in gods or superstition.

I’d love to hear any definition of free will that makes sense.

First we have to define free will before we can answer Robert’s question.

But obviously whatever it is has gone along for the evolutionary ride. Changes in brains suggest changes in consciousness and consciousness is inextricably linked with free will. So if we posit free will in humans but not in cats we are just being religious assholes. And…[Read more]

Davis, you may infer from influence that we have choice but influence does not imply choice.

The language is perhaps the confusion. Our language reflects our perception and experience. OH GOD, blurted out in a moment of ecstasy or astonishment does not imply that the bedazzled is a believer in god.

Decisions are made but never freely. The…[Read more]

Sorry, there is no contradiction in at once denying free will and influencing others. The influencer and the one influenced are the result of countless causal steps. So yes the mechanistic nature of the universe means it impossible to have free will. Sapolsky shows how our biology determines our everything.g Then again any chink in mechanics…[Read more]

No contradiction in what Sudden Sam is saying.

Only in a superficial way can it be seen as a contradiction.

Notice how the language suggests dualism?

We can’t really conceive of anything but our own agency. Where are we? WHERE, GODDAMNIT TO FUCKING HELL!

I just got that Sapolsky book. I am determined to read it.

However the issue is framed at most we have some sort of attenuated agency. Once we realize that we are not hot shits or that our flaws are beyond our control it can at once be a realization that liberates us and feels like being in chains.

Regardless of how convinced we are that free…[Read more]

Under any realistic definition i have no idea how free will is possible.

Agency? aaaa yeah i have my own agency. It is known as Central Mental.

Enco, i will pass on responsing and instead pass on this video i stumbled on weak and weary upon a midnight handicapping dreary.

Enco, so i assume you are fine with the voters deciding?

Then why should we care where the candidate is born?

The parlegal’s wanting to be paid to give legal advice is an issue i knew about. It has been around i think at least two decades. But i side with the lawyers and against the paralegals. Get your law license if you want to give legal…[Read more]

Enco, i was making a point. I was not advocating licensure of presidential candidates. (But yes of course we ought to require candidates to prove they are competent to be what they aspire to be…power hungry mofos)

Licensed contractors, docs, lawyers and we the public have recourse when they fuck up. When they fuck up and violate codes of…[Read more]

It will be a case of first impression. I have neither read nor heard any analysis but i took a gander over yander and the language of the 14th doesn’t pander.

Conservative court should be strict constructionists. For that matter any court high or low ought bestow the decision whence reason flow. In reality i am afraid the Court will weasel a…[Read more]

Instead of viewing people as enemies why not view BAD IDEAS as THE enemy?

Even when we are aware of determinism we can’t help ourselves. We posit free will and that is never more apparent than it is with the ones we villify.

Hard core Muslims? Degenerates? If you accept free will and examine the rules, beliefs, behavior and precepts of…[Read more]