There is a theory that free will is an illusion and we are all just reacting to external forces. I'd like to point out I believe in free will, but there is a strong argument to be made against free will ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinism ). If in a lab (hehe) free will could be proved beyond any doubt to be an illusion, would you give up Christianity?
Now that is a fun paradox. Well maybe not a strict paradox but close. If free will is an illusion then we are not free to choose to give up Christianity. There would be no genuine deciding to give up Christianity. Your question "would you give up Christianity" implies a choice in the matter when in fact there would be none. Edit: Not to be rude, but it is a moot question. It is impossible to prove in a lab that free will is an illusion because lab research deals only with empirical data, not metaphysical/philosophical/moral concepts. It's like asking "what if they proved in a lab that money really can buy happiness" or "what if they proved that hate is not a family value" or "what if they found a lab definition of art". Edit: p.s. I noticed after I posted this that it is my 666th post, ooohh spooky.
I don't mean literally in a lab, but scientifically. It is sort of being studied scientifically, on a quantum level. But I don't know much about quantum mechanics, so I can't really argue that point. Its a bit subjective and it will not be proven either way in this life, it is just a "what if" question.
In the river of life and death we have as much free will as a fish has in a flowing river - we can go here or there thinking it is free will but in reality we are bound by the water in which we swim; life and death are two banks of the river of life but in reality they are both part of one 'bank,' a gouge in the ground of existence. If you really wish to experience life forget about philosophy. One can quote any philosopher and not have a complete understanding of what he meant - they can't, it is impossible. One can try to relate and associate one's own experience(s) with the words of another but ultimately they are empty words devoid of actual experience, of existentialism. Determinism (your link) says there are no miracles. It all depends on what you believe a miracle to be, to wit, one can consider life itself a miracle and be appreciative of Life or one can demand to see a miracle, in which case 'strike a spent match on a matchbook and see if it will light'; it depends on expectations. If you have no expectations (not "fatalism") then that is a miracle in itself. To me, Determinism and Free Will are crocks. Out of all the unanswerable questions, there is only one to be fanthomed: "What is death"? Everything else is a crock, imo.
Well Wf death is part of life, just as the credits are part of a movie and people have free will to the extent that the know who they are
Heres a fun thought. If free will is an illusion, then your belief in free will is just a reaction whatever outside force is controling you, thereby making your belief that your will is you own mean nothing
Is this something you were taught, something which you imagined or something which you have found out for yourself, is it existential? Supposedly the great psychiatrist, Freud, would faint at the mere mention of the word "death". To say 'life is a part of death' will not predict how one will react when faced with the actual possibility. If life were just a part of life then why bother mourning and burying people? Elephants mourn their dead, cats know when death is coming. Our free will will not help us even if we do not wish to die, we must ultimately surrender and come to know that it was all a wasted life. The idea of free will is just another mental thought, part of the ego, that wishes to be master of the universe, that wishes to be God. That is not to say that we do not have free will, just that it is not an ultimate truth. Will is of the mind. The mind is a prison. If an animal frightens you as you cross its path you instinctively react, there is no free will, there is just pure reaction. Therefore what we consider free will is just a rationalisation. Does anyone really know themselves? Haven't you ever done something and then asked yourself, "Now, why the hell did I do that?," or "Why did I do that?" We think we know ourselves, but we really don't. If we did then we couldn't be manipulated, we wouldn't act unconsciously; but we're manipulated all the time, by the church, by our parents, siblings, friends, politicans, the media, what we see, what we hear, what we read, what we think, what we imagine. Is what we think "us"? If I am a man and think myself a woman, am I a woman? If nature is capricious do I have controll over 'her'? I can only have control over my small part of reality, I cannot have control over someone else's reality, therefore my free will has constraints, dictated by life itself, the circumstances from the past and the present. The circumstances from the past or the present will colour my actions and reactions, so where is my free will? My free will is also a conditioning, it has been built upon by past experiences, past pleasures, past pains. If something in the past has caused me pain, am I likely to do something which will replicate the pain? If there is a price paid for that pleasure, will I consider the price too high? Say I had sex with a married woman and caused a divorce, thereby. When the opportunity presents itself with another married woman, is it my free will acting when I decide to or not to engage in the same behaviour? Or is it conditioning?
On the sociological side of the equation ~ So long as people continue to force their own acquired/accepted/unquestioned beliefs upon succeeding generations, there can be little inherited free will as such. So it must be discovered and claimed by each generation. On the creational side of things ~ The universe has no barriers. We can explore whatever and wherever we choose. Such is the nature of being. The experiences we gain from doing so is always to our benefit, even when painful. On the spiritual side of things ~ My belief is that all life returns to its place of origin when the corporeal body expires. But that is not so much a matter of "choice" but a matter of being "the way it is", such as when a seed falls from the tree, it falls back into the soil from which the tree seeded. So our "soul" returns to the creative medium from whence it came. The freedom to accept, reject, or question christianity or anything is a freedom that exists only for those who would dare explore the truth of reality. Those afraid of the universe or god or retribution huddle in groups hoping life will find them rather than using the gift of being to live life fully. We are all free to be free, or free to be enslaved by belief. Freedom rules, OK?
i think its great that my few words generated this long post and white by no means am i trying to slam you, and i rather enjoy talking about this topic a bit of A&B ive always held the veiws that people can tell or describe things, but no matter how well they do it you will never understand unless you experiance it for yourself *Shutter* uhg im not much of a fan of freud, and i think people put to much faith in pysch emm your not making much of a rebutle to what i said, and if you think you wasted your life, thats to bad, but maybe you can do somehting aobut that? free will, dose not give you the power to cheat death, or crush cars with your mind heres another side of the coin, the idea that we have no free is are just the words of people afriad of what it is, that there life is not in the hands of some god, and that makes them feel insecure/unsafe ( not knowing whats going to happen surely is scary) or maybe even ashamed/denining what they have found, because its not what they where taught, and the fear of becoming God of course ive done things like that, i never said knowing yourself, truely knowing yourself was an easey task, or that i have always known myself or one that everyone is up for the task of finding out Manipulation is a point of veiw and sometimes things dont always go as the manipulator planned, and again no super mind powers!, that comes when you buy my amazing book on telecult powers! ($49.99) . Called Hedonism there i think ive responded to all your major points
