Free Will (The nature of a \'Creator\')

by dhw, Monday, September 13, 2010, 11:06 (5184 days ago) @ romansh

ROMANSH: Intuitively, free will and consciousness seem inseparable, I agree, but on deeper reflection this is totally based on our human experience.-Our human experience and our observation of other animals. (I agree with B_M that other animals have a degree of consciousness and reasoning skills.) What else can we base it on? You say: "[..] if they are [inseparable], then where ever we find free will, then we will find consciousness and conscious is unnecessary within the definition." But if we omit "conscious" from our definition, we will allow in other forms of decision. Matt has already given you the example of robots, which can make decisions but are not conscious; drugs, hypnosis, alcohol may also leading to decisions made without conscious control. (One part of my definition of consciousness is awareness of oneself.) If you don't believe me, try arguing with a drunkard who insists that he is fit to drive, and then ask him the next day in hospital what he remembers. -You ask how I would describe "will" without using the word "will". Ah, this is good probing, but you have asked the wrong question. I have already given you an answer in my last post with two dictionary definitions (but remember, this is the form of "will" used in the expression "free will", as opposed to its many other uses): "The ability to make conscious choices or decisions" (Encarta). But you have indirectly torpedoed my revised definition! You should have asked what is the difference between will and free will. By enthusiastically incorporating David's addition (forget the boundaries/constraints disagreement), I jettisoned the distinction I had tried to make in my first definition. The problem with that was that it is impossible to make decisions independently of the constraints, if only because the constraints themselves are often part of the decision. For instance, I must choose from 50 items on the restaurant menu. My decision is made within those constraints, but is not independent of them. We make conscious decisions all the time within the various constraints, and our definition needs to incorporate the fact that these decisions may or may not be within our control (since no-one can know for sure whether we do or don't have free will). Humbly I withdraw my revised revision, and launch yet another, brand new attempt:
 
An entity's conscious ability to control its decision-making process within given constraints.-Testing: do we know the extent of our control? No, since we don't know how far we are directed by internal and external influences. Does this definition allow for creativity and innovation? Yes, since there will always be limitations on what we can create (the sculptor's block of marble, the range of the musical instrument, the laws of Nature). Do we exclude robots? Yes, as they are not conscious. No fanfares, and I'm not claiming that $64,000 prize. Yet. (I've learned my lesson!) Keep probing.