Jay520 said:
Kasz216 said:
Jay520 said:
I personally don't think humans have free will. I believe humans actually lack the ability to 'decide' their actions. Sure, humans appear to make their decisions, but one has to realise that every 'decision' we make is based upon our experience of the world, which is based upon external factors which we have no control over.
One person's brain is composed of the same atoms as any other person. Barring any genetic mutations, which are uncontrollable anyway, humans are more or less born with the same state of mind. The difference in each individual is caused by the unique 'experience' that each individual goes through.
We make decisions based on what we know. Our knowledge originates from external stimuli. Our brains are clouded by our limited perspective of the world. We don't choose what we percieve. We just percieve what we come across. These perceptions are then combined with other perceptions & innate instincts and our brains uses those [external] factors to form what we call 'decisions'.
With all that said, I can confidently say that every choice/decision is absolutely determined by factors out of our control. If if we do have some control over our decisions, which we don't, one cannot deny the presence external stimuli as a large factor in affecting our choices in life, thus, affecting our personality.
With that said, one could say that the only thing that differs people are the things we come across, not who we are. The only thing that makes me any different from a prisoner is the different occurences we've experienced, I just had a better state of mind caused by a more fortunate experience with the world.
Thoughts? |
A) Everyone's brains are NOT the same at birth.
Furthermore twins who are seperated at birth and live widely seperate lives actually tend to have pretty similar lives. If not in terms of success, they due in terms of hobbies and such.
B) Tons of people have a "Serial killer" type brain. Few people are serial killers, even among people who live very similar lives.
Conclusion. People are born with very differnt framed of mind at birth which shape general interests and hobbies, however actual action seems to be based on something else.
What the other thing is, is unknown right now, making this debate somewhat pointless.
In general your entire premise is off base in regards to modern psychology and biology.
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@conclusion. Wouldn't that mean people have little control over their personality considering people are born with a general frame of mind?
I wasn't really interested in a debate considering I know very little on the topic. I was more interested in what the more educated posters had to say. |
It depends on what your talking about.
Whether or not you will like woodworking seems mostly be genetic at birth with some cultural element.
Whether or not you have a short temper is a combination of both.
Whether or not your going to kill someone else or do something dickish to someoen else.... is up do something else completely, that's partly biology, partly cultural, bust mostly "Something else".
Biology and Culture may be more likely to make you do it.... but whether or not you do...
that seems to be up to something else completely.
