Information and free will (Introduction)

by David Turell , Sunday, October 02, 2011, 21:37 (4801 days ago) @ dhw


> I presume Romansh's comment relates to the constraints that are beyond our control, and during our discussion on the subject, we spent a lot of time on the internal constraints ... the most obvious one being the brain we're born with. David, you refer to "I" as if "I" were separate from the physical brain, and that underlies not only the problem of free will but also that of identity. It all boils down to whether we are entirely dependent on our physical cells or we have a form of energy within ourselves that is independent of them and is capable of directing them. That may also be seen as an analogy to the question of whether there is or is not a form of conscious energy that is independent of the material universe as we know it. Your old Greek buddies used to relate such analogies to microcosm and macrocosm. There are lots of routes back to your "first cause" ... and all of them lead to a T-junction!-My brain is mine. I own it and I use it. It does not use me. But, I believe there is a conscious energy within the universe and without, my favorite UI. And my consciousness is part of that conscious energy. As for independent energy in my body, of course, there is: the autonomic nervous system, which runs and is the thermostat and controller for lots of automatic activities, i.e., I don't have to think to breathe, or regulate my blood pressure. -A T-junction, no. That is dead-heading into a stop sign. A Y-junction, perhaps, so one can choose the best reason as to why there is a universe at all. Or as Yogi Berra said, "If you come to a fork in the road, take it."