Information and free will (Introduction)

by romansh , Friday, October 14, 2011, 05:27 (4768 days ago) @ dhw

Originally your objection was to the prerequisite of consciousness, so I’m pleased to see you’ve now shifted your ground.

Not at all, I still think it is an unnecessary prerequisite.

No matter how much freedom I have, I cannot make decisions that will go against the constraints of Nature, which includes my own nature as it is now: I can’t decide to fly, jump fifty metres, become dictator of the world, or eat a thousand bars of chocolate at one go. None of these “decisions” are within the compass of my current identity, and so they represent given constraints. Similarly with situation: if I’m locked up in prison I can’t decide to go shopping. I can, however, decide whether to sing “Please Release Me” or “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”.

I'll ask the same question I tried to ask David just. Are our thoughts a reflection of the chemistry going on in our brains? Some seem to think it is the reverse. Some might argue that certain neural pathways get strengthened because of our thoughts. But are not our thoughts a product of the brain's on-going chemistry?

So which came first the thought or the brain chemistry?

I explained what I meant by consciousness: “awareness of one’s own thoughts, perceptions, actions and environment.” Do you disagree with this definition? I like your cautious “rudimentary”, but if you think your computer fulfils the conditions of my definition of consciousness, then you believe it’s conscious, and if you think it’s able consciously to control its decision-making process within given constraints, then you believe your computer has free will. I don’t.

Fair enough, but I don't think a computer makes any free choices or that it's will is free. Also your argument works both ways. The computer is self aware even if it is not conscious. Ultimately two snooker balls colliding have an even more rudimentary self awareness. I think I posted this link of Susan Blackmore's before. An interesting take on the absence of consciousness.

http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/Books/Tenzen/question1.htm