Philosophy The Problem of Free Will

[sleepydvdr]

Free will is shunned at birth. From the first time you mother says "shhh, don't cry", you are being told what to do. This kind of control is exerted on you your entire life, from what laws you must abide by to brushing your teeth. We are slaves to society and do not have true free will.

But we can take a vacation if it is approved by our managers. And we can go to the mountains if the other people also want to go. But if you insist on the mountains and the others don't want to go there, you are trampling their free will to go to the beach.

 

[Blobbenstein]

I don't brush my teeth, and I've got the fillings and gaps to prove it.

 

[beancounter]

Free will is shunned at birth. From the first time you mother says "shhh, don't cry", you are being told what to do. This kind of control is exerted on you your entire life, from what laws you must abide by to brushing your teeth. We are slaves to society and do not have true free will.

But we can take a vacation if it is approved by our managers. And we can go to the mountains if the other people also want to go. But if you insist on the mountains and the others don't want to go there, you are trampling their free will to go to the beach.

I still say, you can choose to go on vacation any time you want without management approval, and the others can go to the beach without you. They may not be good choices, but people are still free to make them.

 

[sleepydvdr]

I still say, you can choose to go on vacation any time you want without management approval, and the others can go to the beach without you. They may not be good choices, but people are still free to make them.

I want to take a trip to Alpha Centauri. But I can't.

 

[beancounter]

I want to take a trip to Alpha Centauri. But I can't.

This is the next best thing to actually being there. . Forget about free will. This game will take away all of your free time.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...alias=computers&field-keywords=alpha+centauri

 

[FortyTwo]

Instead of worrying about it from a philosophical perspective, think of the science behind it.

One's personality determines one's response to situations, and therefore, decisions. So if our personalities are hard-wired into our systems from birth, shaped by the forces around us and continually molded, then it's simply a matter of environmental factors that affect one's behavior. Therefore, we are inclined to think in exactly the way that we will, meaning that, as long as our personalities are predictable (which is not always true and why the Final Theory hasn't been figured out yet - otherwise it'd just be a matter of simple mathematics to predict human interaction with the future on a worldwide scale), we will end up making the specific decisions that we are going to make. While it's not predestination, considering nobody had to think up plans for us beforehand, it certainly leads to a strange understanding of free will.

For example, the way I act and the way I feel has made me inclined to write this post at three in the morning. I can also predict, with quite a bit of accuracy, that tomorrow I will look at this post and immediately begin nitpicking it because it was written at three in the morning.

Steven Hawking had a pretty neat special on this. It's worth checking out. He explains it with far more elegance than I can (duh).

 

[cornsail]

That is still philosophy and not science though. We can't measure personalities directly or predict how people will act in all circumstances. Theoretically we might be able to do these things in the future.

 

[FortyTwo]

That is still philosophy and not science though. We can't measure personalities directly or predict how people will act in all circumstances. Theoretically we might be able to do these things in the future.

You're right. So was I.

I should have referred more to the chemical makeup of the brain, and how that influences decisions.

 

[Second Summer]

My take on "free will" is that it doesn't really make sense as a concept once one delves into the nitty gritty of trying to define it.

I tend to agree. Though I would like to have a similar, better defined concept that does make sense.

 

[Dropkick]

I possess free will as my actions aren't predetermined by fate or deity.
The physical restrictions of my current reality determines some of possible actions I can take, or can't take, but it doesn't determine which of the possible actions I will take or not take.
The only way for me to lose my free will is for all my actions (or inactions) to be determined by another.