| Plaupius said: You did bring up the quantum effects, but you've since stated that you believe in determinism. And I'm not really arguing about whether we have free will or not, as that is irrelevant. We perceive ourselves as having free will to make decisions. Ironically, the cause for that perception does not matter. However, using your definition of free will (autonomous and independent, as I recall. Correct me if I'm wrong.) the situation is not as clear cut if you consider how our consciousness is born. Autonomous to do what, and independent from what? What about random events that happen within the consciousness? It seemed to me you defined free will as akin to a point source, which is most definitely is not, if it exists. |
Well, I wouldn't separate random things that occur within and outside of our consciousness as they both ultimately does nothing but affect our decisions (and thus, our "free" will). In other words: For the will to be free, it cannot be materialistic, which is why I don't think that there's a free will to begin with. I think I explained that as a paradox earlier by saying something like "The only possible way for us to actually have an independant will (that is unaffected by randomness) is if the world is entirely determined, which makes the will dependent of something else."
