This is what 'free will' advocates don't grasp. Things either happen for a reason, or are random. Combining these two mechanisms in any quantity does not produce 'free' thought. Thoughts are bound by mechanisms.
Do atheists believe in free will?
- Thread starter VitalOne
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This is what 'free will' advocates don't grasp. Things either happen for a reason, or are random. Combining these two mechanisms in any quantity does not produce 'free' thought. Thoughts are bound by mechanisms.
People will always choose the most logical decision that they can make, and only that person has the necessary inputs needed to make that decision. No matter what someone chooses, only that person knows the exact reasons why they make the choice. Because people will always choose the most justifiable option, then someone could say that there isn't any free-will, but the only thing that that person could say that is absolute is that someone will always choose the option that they find the most logical.
The only way to demonstrate free-will is to have someone make a decision that has no input given to the person deciding. Because this is never possible, then one could say that free-will doesn't exist; people can predict what choice other people will make if they know the exact inputs given to the person making the decision.
Say a letter, either 'a' or 'x', but not both, right now.
No matter how seemingly random that question (or command I suppose) is, people will always come to the decision that is the result of a logical thought process which may include something like, ''a' looks cooler, so I'll say that' or 'just because I'm biased towards 'a', I think I'll choose 'x'' Or something like that.
Because of these reasons, I believe that it's impossible to say that there is or isn't free-will. If you want to believe in it, then do it, if you don't, don't. In the end, it doesn't matter. If you don't believe in free will, then you are looking for an excuse for your failure. If you do believe in free will, then you are looking for a reason to always strive for more. That's what it all boils down to in my opinion.
The only way to demonstrate free-will is to have someone make a decision that has no input given to the person deciding. Because this is never possible, then one could say that free-will doesn't exist; people can predict what choice other people will make if they know the exact inputs given to the person making the decision.
Say a letter, either 'a' or 'x', but not both, right now.
No matter how seemingly random that question (or command I suppose) is, people will always come to the decision that is the result of a logical thought process which may include something like, ''a' looks cooler, so I'll say that' or 'just because I'm biased towards 'a', I think I'll choose 'x'' Or something like that.
Because of these reasons, I believe that it's impossible to say that there is or isn't free-will. If you want to believe in it, then do it, if you don't, don't. In the end, it doesn't matter. If you don't believe in free will, then you are looking for an excuse for your failure. If you do believe in free will, then you are looking for a reason to always strive for more. That's what it all boils down to in my opinion.
Does anyone here watch the American comedy show "Saturday Night Live"?
A few weeks ago they had an episode with a 5-minute bit of "Dora the Explorer," an educational children's show that’s aimed at very young kids. The cartoon character Dora will ask the kids (via the TV) questions like "If it's three o’clock now, what time will it be in two hours?" or "How many days are in a week?" and then pause for the child to answer. They had a few “normal” questions like that that, then suddenly Dora asked "If I make a decision because of my beliefs, but I don't have control over my beliefs, do I really have free will?" It was followed by a very long pause.
A few weeks ago they had an episode with a 5-minute bit of "Dora the Explorer," an educational children's show that’s aimed at very young kids. The cartoon character Dora will ask the kids (via the TV) questions like "If it's three o’clock now, what time will it be in two hours?" or "How many days are in a week?" and then pause for the child to answer. They had a few “normal” questions like that that, then suddenly Dora asked "If I make a decision because of my beliefs, but I don't have control over my beliefs, do I really have free will?" It was followed by a very long pause.
