Hear, hear! Human minds are apparently so constructed that over time every possible proposition will be taken as true by someone. Isn’t the personal experience of free will nearly universal? Do doubters really believe that they are not who they experience themselves to be? Evan as humankind slowly amasses evidence for the construction of reliable models of what’s out there, we apparently tend to want to stay confused. Does taking a stand that every action I make is the result of my bio-computer non-indeterminately evaluating the near infinite complexity of each moment in the light of all that I have ever experienced and thought about imply that I lack a will? Or if I don’t lack a will, is it in some mysterious way not free? Really? Would I have things arranged any other way?
With empathy for all,
Frank
PS Chris, I have not forgotten Stranger Worlds. It is just that my dance card has suddenly become over full. For one, my journalist/author eldest daughter has started me on a personal memoir project. Some of the pieces I’m writing for that project will eventually appear on the Citizen Philosophers Substack, but like everything else, that will have to wait its turn.
While I am always happy to get comments from you, we all know how busy life can be. I'll enjoy your remarks whenever they appear, and that's enough for me. 🙂
"Do doubters really believe that they are not who they experience themselves to be?"
This is a great question!
I suspect there are two major categories of doubt here. The first is the 'pit of despair' doubter, who feels so powerless in their own life that they give up on free will. Perhaps this assuages a sense of responsibility for their own problems, but in my experience giving up on free will just compounds the darkness. Once you fall in the hole, the depression becomes paralysing, and the doubt is secondary to the melancholy.
The second class is the 'special case genius', that self-aggrandising monument to pride who can make a proclamation about the state of human existence without it actually affecting their own behaviour. Either they believe themselves to be above the other humans around them, or else they craft a weird narrative about existence that assuages any sense of responsibility for their own actions enabling them to exercise a kind of sociopathic free will.
That's probably not exhaustive, but I suspect that catches most cases!
Please excuse. I’m not sure I follow your logic in your second class. It seems to me that you might be saying that the ‘special case genius’ believes herself to be something she is not but nonetheless believes that she has free will.
Aye, the 'special case genius' may believe that no-one has free will (but tacitly exclude themselves from this) or alternatively they may not believe they have free will, and may use this disbelief to bankroll all sorts of ethically dodgy actions. Hope that's clearer!
Hear, hear! Human minds are apparently so constructed that over time every possible proposition will be taken as true by someone. Isn’t the personal experience of free will nearly universal? Do doubters really believe that they are not who they experience themselves to be? Evan as humankind slowly amasses evidence for the construction of reliable models of what’s out there, we apparently tend to want to stay confused. Does taking a stand that every action I make is the result of my bio-computer non-indeterminately evaluating the near infinite complexity of each moment in the light of all that I have ever experienced and thought about imply that I lack a will? Or if I don’t lack a will, is it in some mysterious way not free? Really? Would I have things arranged any other way?
With empathy for all,
Frank
PS Chris, I have not forgotten Stranger Worlds. It is just that my dance card has suddenly become over full. For one, my journalist/author eldest daughter has started me on a personal memoir project. Some of the pieces I’m writing for that project will eventually appear on the Citizen Philosophers Substack, but like everything else, that will have to wait its turn.
Dear Frank,
While I am always happy to get comments from you, we all know how busy life can be. I'll enjoy your remarks whenever they appear, and that's enough for me. 🙂
"Do doubters really believe that they are not who they experience themselves to be?"
This is a great question!
I suspect there are two major categories of doubt here. The first is the 'pit of despair' doubter, who feels so powerless in their own life that they give up on free will. Perhaps this assuages a sense of responsibility for their own problems, but in my experience giving up on free will just compounds the darkness. Once you fall in the hole, the depression becomes paralysing, and the doubt is secondary to the melancholy.
The second class is the 'special case genius', that self-aggrandising monument to pride who can make a proclamation about the state of human existence without it actually affecting their own behaviour. Either they believe themselves to be above the other humans around them, or else they craft a weird narrative about existence that assuages any sense of responsibility for their own actions enabling them to exercise a kind of sociopathic free will.
That's probably not exhaustive, but I suspect that catches most cases!
Great to hear from you,
Chris.
Please excuse. I’m not sure I follow your logic in your second class. It seems to me that you might be saying that the ‘special case genius’ believes herself to be something she is not but nonetheless believes that she has free will.
Aye, the 'special case genius' may believe that no-one has free will (but tacitly exclude themselves from this) or alternatively they may not believe they have free will, and may use this disbelief to bankroll all sorts of ethically dodgy actions. Hope that's clearer!