You mention human free will a number of times. I've been thinking a lot about free will lately. Specifically my own. I've been watching carefully how I make decisions, and I'm beginning to think it isn't possible, for me at least, to detect actual free will happening. If I am faced with a choice between desirable and less desirable or awful things, there's no real freedom. I just follow my desires, and where my desires and aversions come from is not, as far as I can tell, something I have or had control of. If I have to choose between several options that all seem of about the same desirability, I dither a little and then a decision pops into consciousness. I have no awareness how it was actually arrived at. It just appears. Maybe my unconscious mind made it (and if so, there's no way I can tell whether it was freely arrived at). Maybe mye panexperiential constituent parts made it. But again, if so, I can't tell how or why it was made since my conscious mind is not privy to how my constituent parts decide things. If I make a choice that goes against my desires, this seems like freedom must be involved. For example, when I realized I was drinking too much and decided to give up the wine and the rum which I very much desired, I had to grit my teeth and use willpower for a while until new habits were established. But why did I decide to put myself through that struggle? Because I had another desire - not to let my life spin out of control, and that desire was stronger that the desire to drink. So was there really any freedom involved there? I really don't know. I'm just not sure we, or that is our conscious minds, have any real freedom. Have you thought any about this? (I think I may do a post on this sometime soon).
I have been thinking about this and I come to a related but seemingly contrary position. If I have even a modicum of free choice, then I am free, but you seem to be saying if you only have a modicum of choice than you are not free.
In your example, you desire to stop drinking, but I know many alcoholics who desire to drink, and they have done so into oblivion – prison, and even death in some cases.
If my product of decisions that I’ve not been able to participate in than the failures that I’ve considered mine don’t have any value in terms of lessons and I shouldn’t feel any guilt or shame for any “bad decision“—I think humans are to be more accountable for the harm they cause, not less.
Whatever that Lor or inspiration was that led to decisions to change her habits I wonder how weak is that Lor that we don’t all respond to it similarly especially when we’re trying to respond to it or make the most positive choices for our own livelihood
Great post! Looking forward to What is Humanity / What is God.
That chapter of the book is unhinged…I’m afraid for that post! Haha
You mention human free will a number of times. I've been thinking a lot about free will lately. Specifically my own. I've been watching carefully how I make decisions, and I'm beginning to think it isn't possible, for me at least, to detect actual free will happening. If I am faced with a choice between desirable and less desirable or awful things, there's no real freedom. I just follow my desires, and where my desires and aversions come from is not, as far as I can tell, something I have or had control of. If I have to choose between several options that all seem of about the same desirability, I dither a little and then a decision pops into consciousness. I have no awareness how it was actually arrived at. It just appears. Maybe my unconscious mind made it (and if so, there's no way I can tell whether it was freely arrived at). Maybe mye panexperiential constituent parts made it. But again, if so, I can't tell how or why it was made since my conscious mind is not privy to how my constituent parts decide things. If I make a choice that goes against my desires, this seems like freedom must be involved. For example, when I realized I was drinking too much and decided to give up the wine and the rum which I very much desired, I had to grit my teeth and use willpower for a while until new habits were established. But why did I decide to put myself through that struggle? Because I had another desire - not to let my life spin out of control, and that desire was stronger that the desire to drink. So was there really any freedom involved there? I really don't know. I'm just not sure we, or that is our conscious minds, have any real freedom. Have you thought any about this? (I think I may do a post on this sometime soon).
Yes, write the post.
I have been thinking about this and I come to a related but seemingly contrary position. If I have even a modicum of free choice, then I am free, but you seem to be saying if you only have a modicum of choice than you are not free.
In your example, you desire to stop drinking, but I know many alcoholics who desire to drink, and they have done so into oblivion – prison, and even death in some cases.
If my product of decisions that I’ve not been able to participate in than the failures that I’ve considered mine don’t have any value in terms of lessons and I shouldn’t feel any guilt or shame for any “bad decision“—I think humans are to be more accountable for the harm they cause, not less.
Whatever that Lor or inspiration was that led to decisions to change her habits I wonder how weak is that Lor that we don’t all respond to it similarly especially when we’re trying to respond to it or make the most positive choices for our own livelihood