Free will again (Humans)

by David Turell , Sunday, March 11, 2012, 15:33 (4639 days ago) @ dhw

This may well be the point at which we are actually in agreement but are simply interpreting "awareness" differently. Focusing, in the examples I have given, entails deliberately shutting out the layer of consciousness that makes us aware of ourselves perceiving, so that we get on with the job of perceiving (or acting, or playing, or dealing with people). That requires control ... yet another layer, which involves the will, free or not. You wrote: "My focus was out of control and what was going on in my mindfield controlled me." Of course I don't know what exactly was in your "mindfield", but if it interfered with your focus, I suspect that it's what I call excessive self-awareness.-How much awareness and self-awareness you have is an issue of consciousness, not truly free will the headline of this discussion. Libet aside, because I think he is simply showing pre-potentials, and his subjects really did decide to push the button, the following is a review article of three books, and makes more sense to me than anything I've read. -It may be that each brain neuron has ten thousand proteins doing their things independently of 'me', but at some point I do the 'doing'. Our body is an autonomous beast: if I had to think to breathe, to pump my blood, to orchestrate the salt levels in my urine, I wouldn't have time for fun discussions as on this site. We have an autonomic nerve system along with our wonderful conscoiusness. It is important to the materialist atheists that we don't have free will and consciousness is an illusion. If Dawkins has to admit that I am right, he has to accept theism. He said so himself.-http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/caa4f212-688b-11e1-a6cc-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1ooz4nFYi