A Sense of Free Will: requires a properly functioning brain (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, August 12, 2015, 20:23 (3391 days ago) @ romansh

Rom: "A recent study found that explaining naive realism to people and showing them visual illusions reduced their certainty in their judgments of others' behavior — 
> Are you claiming the study did not find this link or that it is simply a misinterpretation. -I don't disagree at all with this statement. I've done it to myself.
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> > Rom: Maybe neuroscience education can help alleviate social strife. (Who knows how many wars the dress-color controversy has averted by highlighting the subjectivity of experience — not counting the ones it's sparked online?)
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> You doubt explanations of our behaviours might alleviate social strife?-I don't disagree.
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> > One might start by explaining how the self is fabricated and that it is a fabrication, just like everything else we experience. “The man who wasn't there” is an evocative term for a particular pathological self-negation. But, according to neuroscience, none of us are here."
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> There are two senses of the word fabricated here ... using the sense "made" it makes perfect sense to me? Having said that even in the sense of "made up" it is valid. 
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> >> David: The author described pathological brain states and concluded the above. I don't think a normal brain can be thought of this way. As I've noted the normal brain provides for a conscious state and a sense of self. That it provides patterns for us from all its neurons in ionized states is helpful. If you reflect upon what you see, it is obvious that the arrangement is very helpful.
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> Rom: I don't recall the author saying anything else, other than when we don't have a 'normal' brain state then we don't have a 'normal' sense of free will or of self. Now the way the article was written I suspect the author(s) don't believe in contra-causal free will and probably believe in the illusory nature of the self.
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> These two beliefs are understandable if we apply a little bit of inductive logic and careful self awareness.-I assume the reason you have pursued this article so closely is the author's probable belief system is yours also. I don't think one can use the deranged brain to conclude that. My brain and I work in harmony with each other. As I work on a new project its plasticity provides a new area of neurons to handle the load. It provides patterns to help me discern reality. I've accepted that as a reasonable compromise for a biologic computer at the basis of my consciousness. I frankly don't know how else it could work. I understand that I don't receive the information at first hand. I know that eye witness accounts are not always accurate. That is the nature of the beast. I guess you'd call me a pragmatist.