Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will
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Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will
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Re: Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will
#2I've always thought of free will as an absurdity.
Here's my thought process:
If I make a decision, there's 2 possibilities:
1. The decision is based upon prior information and states, therefore there is a deterministic causality
2. The decision is not based upon prior causality: E.g. I have a "soul" and that's what decides.
1. Either the souls decision is deterministic based upon metaphysical information
2. Or the soul has a soul (where the same problem appears, turtles all the way down)
So, either there is no free will because all your actions are determined by past actions, or instead free will just means that part of your actions are just based on, essentially, the throw of a dice. In both of these cases, you yourself have 0 agency.
I think saying that Free Will exists when it equates to a random choice is absurd.
Re: Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will
#3I've always thought of free will as an absurdity. Here's my thought process: If I make a decision, there's 2 possibilities: 1. The decision is based upon prior information and states, therefore there is a deterministic causality 2. The decision is not based upon prior causality: E.g. I have a "soul" and that's what decides. However, if we look into 2, we arrive at the same problem: 1. Either the souls decision is det…
I would completely agree. Our decisions are made based on previous stimuli. Our networks of neurons are altered by stimuli as we grow, this determines how we process later stimuli and the process repeats.
Re: Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will
#4I've always thought of free will as an absurdity. Here's my thought process: If I make a decision, there's 2 possibilities: 1. The decision is based upon prior information and states, therefore there is a deterministic causality 2. The decision is not based upon prior causality: E.g. I have a "soul" and that's what decides. However, if we look into 2, we arrive at the same problem: 1. Either the souls decision is det…
What if the prior states that your decision is based on are states of your brain? For example, states of your brain processing particular information, considering all the factors involved in the decision, and determining what the best decision is, all things considered?
Re: Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will
#5I've always thought of free will as an absurdity. Here's my thought process: If I make a decision, there's 2 possibilities: 1. The decision is based upon prior information and states, therefore there is a deterministic causality 2. The decision is not based upon prior causality: E.g. I have a "soul" and that's what decides. However, if we look into 2, we arrive at the same problem: 1. Either the souls decision is det…
I would completely agree. Our decisions are made based on previous stimuli. Our networks of neurons are altered by stimuli as we grow, this determines how we process later stimuli and the process repeats.
The thing is, this process is so complex it’s useless to talk about determinism of human actions.
Re: Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will
#6Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would completely agree. Our decisions are made based on previous stimuli. Our networks of neurons are altered by stimuli as we grow, this determines how we process later stimuli and the process repeats.
The thing is, this process is so complex it’s useless to talk about determinism of human actions.
Facebook/Google/Amazon probably know your own process better than you.
Re: Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will
#7I've always thought of free will as an absurdity. Here's my thought process: If I make a decision, there's 2 possibilities: 1. The decision is based upon prior information and states, therefore there is a deterministic causality 2. The decision is not based upon prior causality: E.g. I have a "soul" and that's what decides. However, if we look into 2, we arrive at the same problem: 1. Either the souls decision is det…
If the soul has free will, then it cannot have a second-soul to dictate to it. What is the problem with the first-level soul that can freely choose, perhaps incorporating that metaphysical information into its decision?
Re: Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will
#8I've always thought of free will as an absurdity. Here's my thought process: If I make a decision, there's 2 possibilities: 1. The decision is based upon prior information and states, therefore there is a deterministic causality 2. The decision is not based upon prior causality: E.g. I have a "soul" and that's what decides. However, if we look into 2, we arrive at the same problem: 1. Either the souls decision is det…
A decision can be based on prior information (in the sense of being informed by it) while not being deterministic.
This is how Aristotle and Aquinas handle the relationship between the Intellect and the Will, where the will chooses between goods which are known by the intellect. It is precisely in this choosing between different goods that we are classically understood to have free will.
So, our decisions are determined in the sense that we are only able to choose things that appear good to us, but free in the sense that we can choose between those goods.
Re: Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will
#9I've always thought of free will as an absurdity. Here's my thought process: If I make a decision, there's 2 possibilities: 1. The decision is based upon prior information and states, therefore there is a deterministic causality 2. The decision is not based upon prior causality: E.g. I have a "soul" and that's what decides. However, if we look into 2, we arrive at the same problem: 1. Either the souls decision is det…
I would completely agree. Our decisions are made based on previous stimuli. Our networks of neurons are altered by stimuli as we grow, this determines how we process later stimuli and the process repeats.
A silver atom's angular momentum is aligned based on the field in a Stern-Gerlach device. This alignment determines how these atoms react to a future magnetic field. Therefore a silver atom's angular momentum is deterministic. But it's not.
A totally deterministic universe would have been a lot simpler. Why go through so much trouble?
Re: Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will
#10The article argues that "randomness" (by which it means essential unpredictability) is experimentally backed. This is an awkward constraint for a universe designer: isn't a totally deterministic universe much easier and simpler?
Free will has no room to survive in a clockwork universe. But free will remains a viable position, despite the philosophical contortions, but supported by experimental evidence like what's discussed here. And that seems like an argument in itself, right? It ain't come this far...