Free Will
If I suffered from a compulsive neurosis, so that I got up and walked across the room, whether I wanted to or not, or if I did so because somebody else compelled me, then I should not be acting freely. But if I do it now, I shall be acting freely, just because these conditions to not obtain; and the fact that my action may nevertheless have a cause is, from this point of view, irrelevant. ~ A.J. Ayer
So why did I decide to quote this today? Both from the point of view of your filter of me and my own voluntary or involuntary reasons?
(The) interaction of genetic and external influences makes my behaviour unpredictable, but not undetermined. In the gap between those words lies freedom. ~ Matt Ridley
posted by Sj @ 12/19/2006 02:32:00 PM
9 Comments:
At 19 December, 2006 18:15,
Krupo said…
I figured you had a compulsive neurosis until I read past the first line. ;)
Going on a trip, eh? Have fun!
At 19 December, 2006 19:00,
Anonymous said…
Albert Einstein:
All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.
At 19 December, 2006 23:44,
Unknown said…
Free will. Does it exist or do we just imagine it exists? I think there are aspects of our life we can control and aspects we can't.
At 20 December, 2006 07:42,
Anonymous said…
definitely true
we can have control of going out to the beach on a sunny day
but no control over any sudden change of weather
we can have control of walking across the street
but no control over that car driving too fast that hit us
we can have control of what amount of donation we want to give to charity
but no control of what the charity will do with the money
I can go on and on with this one
At 21 December, 2006 09:14,
Sj said…
I would imagine (for sanities sake let me say it this way) that Free Will is not just an illusion to keep people thinking that they have any freedom but is not exactly as most people imagine it. Or in other words, many people think their actions are more determined by their pure thought and reason than is real.
At 22 December, 2006 11:26,
Anonymous said…
C. Wright Mills:
Freedom is not merely the opportunity to do as one pleases; neither is it merely the opportunity to choose between set alternatives. Freedom is, first of all, the chance to formulate the available choices, to argue over them -- and then, the opportunity to choose.
At 22 December, 2006 11:44,
Sj said…
Nice quote Anon. Of course though it can be argued simply that the Freedom so described can still be affected by deterministic mental/physical environments. But on 2nd glance it isn't so easy...
Maybe I should make my thoughts my next post instead of just commenting them here.. you've given me something to think about.
At 23 December, 2006 01:35,
Anonymous said…
omg i loooove me some c. wright mills... don't get me started!
At 26 December, 2006 02:19,
diogo said…
Antidepression drugs a the most perscribed.
Getting nervious around a beatiful women.
Getting inspired by a beautiful sun rise.
All sitution where chemical reactions biological or other wise are not of free will. You can challenge yourself to try and over come these events. But the events them selves are chemical. Free will is limited. Most challenges are over coming what you had no hand in creating, your own personality.
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