Quote:
Originally Posted by Xurtio
But this still confuses the issues of (let's call it willpower) with will. Let's divide the process between two events. First the will is constructed, then the will is carried out. What you and Chula are talking about is carrying out the will, not the origin of will. That would have more to do with "willpower" - obviously Chula couldn't negate gravity and fly unaided just because he wanted to. And sometimes competing brain regions will make it harder for you to achieve your will (your flight or fight response takes over when you try to talk to a pretty girl). But these are all about what you do once you have the will, not the origin of the will itself.
"Free Will" implies that our will is freely constructed based on... nothing, basically. Just the whim of some spiritual entity that can act independently of the cause and effect events taking place in the brain. Behavioral determinists, like myself, or Sam Harris (to appeal to a known neuroscience authority) are saying that the evidence points to our will being constructed deterministically as a result of our biopsychosocial history.
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Thought precedes action. It is in thought one might run through several possible consequences in his or her mind.There are several things to consider, if there is a possibility of something harmful happening or perhaps a lack of confidence that there will be a safe outcome, in which case there would be a fear of the unknown. Whatever the fears are, and whether the fears are from biological, or psychological causes, those fears would only
influence ones judgement in one's decision making process. That influence is one of many things that contribute to making a decision, and though they can be understood through a bio-psychosocial history I don't think that negates "free will." There is nothing that say one who has fear will act a certain way. One can overcome fear. "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." –Ambrose Redmoon
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mord
Actually, I like you a lot, Nea. That's why I treat you like ****. It's the MB way.
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"it counts in our hearts" ?ºº?
“I have nothing to offer anybody, except my own confusion.” Jack Kerouac.
“If one listens to the wrong kind of music, he will become the wrong kind of person.” Aristotle.
"If you tried to give Rock and Roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'." John Lennon
"I look for ambiguity when I'm writing because life is ambiguous." Keith Richards