Free Will, for romansh (Identity)

by David Turell @, Tuesday, January 01, 2013, 20:36 (4343 days ago) @ romansh
edited by unknown, Tuesday, January 01, 2013, 20:46

Rom: Your refutation of Stenger the other day got me searching Stenger's works. I have not read anything of his yet. 
> 
> Anyway here is his take on free will
> http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/vstenger/FreeWillSkeptic.pdf- Stenger's conclulsion:"That's what it all boils down to: that I'm in my right mind and in control of my behavior. Calling it "free will" (as compatibilists do) confuses people, since it suggests some form of dualism, supernatural or not; so let's call it "autonomy." Even if free will is an illusion, autonomous will is not. If you and I are not just some ephemeral consciousness but rather our physical brains and bodies— and the scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports this conclusion—then it is still "we" who make our decisions. And after all, that's what the brain evolved to do, whatever role consciousness might play. Therefore, it is you who are responsible for your decisions, and thus society may justly hold you accountable for your actions."-A good conclusion. The brain uses sleight of hand to allow us to make decisions at times rather quickly as in sports responses, like hitting a pitched ball. I think saying we don't have free will is pushing a conclusion about the brain's processes to an excess. We need the sleight of hand and all of the quantum properties to feel like we run the show, and we do run the show. None of this tells us what consciousness is, but it is not physical, it is at a spiritual level. I follow David Bohm with the idea that consciousness and interconnectedness pervade the universe, which then provide information to support the processes of life. I believe life as inevitable, as does Paul Davies.


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