Information and free will (Introduction)

by romansh , Monday, October 10, 2011, 20:11 (4793 days ago) @ dhw

With regard to the rest of your post, obviously no decision can be free from the information we receive (there would be nothing to decide if we didn’t have some sort of information), and since the universe we are born into comprises everything, you could argue that no decision can be free from the universe.

One would have thought so. The libertarian tends to deny or think cause and effect irrelevant. The compatibilist (I would argue) redefines free will somehow.

So when we refer to free will, how and what are we free from? As a free will skeptic, I don't see much. The way the debate is shaping up there seems to be a homunculus brewing in our brains.

That’s all too woolly for me. Perhaps you could tell us (a) if you still accept the above definition (though I think you objected for some reason to the inclusion of “conscious”), and (b) exactly what sort of information and what aspects of the universe you’re referring to, if they’re not covered by the constraints I’ve listed.

a) I never agreed with the definition.

Mainly because it includes consciousness as prerequisite. This is a poorly understood concept which requires a fair amount of handwaving. If we do not have free will then at the very least things like consciousness, the self (I), morality and life are not quite what they seem.

I agree far flung parts of the universe have negligible impact on us (at this moment). But if those far flung parts of the universe never existed, then the universe would very likely unfolded in a slightly different manner to where we are today.

b)Information in all its forms. Photons striking our retinas, modulated air pressure striking our ear drums, chemicals reacting with in our noses and mouths, mechanical energy and temperature changes on our skin, and inputs from our senses of acceleration and orientation. Plus the information stored in our genetic code.