Free Will

Duty said:
In addition, believing in something because the opposite has unfavorable consequences is a fallacy anyways
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I never claimed to believe in spirituality because I wanted to believe in free will. I believed in spirituality first, and only thought about free will after. I agree it would be a fallacy to believe in something because of the consequences rather than looking at the evidence and reasoning. I just wanted a perspective other than my own.
 
Milon said:
I never claimed to believe in spirituality because I wanted to believe in free will. I believed in spirituality first, and only thought about free will after. I agree it would be a fallacy to believe in something because of the consequences rather than looking at the evidence and reasoning. I just wanted a perspective other than my own.
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Duty said:
And before it's pointed out that if the world is completely deterministic, then no one can be held ethically accountable, think about this:
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:)
 
Duty: Was there supposed to be more with that post? I'm confused...

Quantum physics


Devil's Advocate: Einstein hated the idea of "chance" so much he proclaimed that God doesn't place dice with the universe. (Fun question - can God play games of chance?) Physicist Niels Bohr once said that if you aren't shocked by quantum mechanice then you really don't understand it. On the quantum level, things aren't predetermined. Electrons, for example, behave very strangely. Electrons pass through our nervous systems. Our crainial activity, therefore, isn't pre-determined, and free will is possible. (Fun fact - solid state "flash drives" rely on quantum tunnelling to work!)

How's that for a counter-argument?

Another fun thought - quantum entanglement is the phonomena where two atoms are "linked" such that a change to one instantly changes the other, regardless of the space between them. What if one of those molecules is in your brain? Mind control! No more free will! :lol:
 
Milon said:
Duty: Was there supposed to be more with that post? I'm confused...

Quantum physics


Devil's Advocate: Einstein hated the idea of "chance" so much he proclaimed that God doesn't place dice with the universe. (Fun question - can God play games of chance?) Physicist Niels Bohr once said that if you aren't shocked by quantum mechanice then you really don't understand it. On the quantum level, things aren't predetermined. Electrons, for example, behave very strangely. Electrons pass through our nervous systems. Our crainial activity, therefore, isn't pre-determined, and free will is possible. (Fun fact - solid state "flash drives" rely on quantum tunnelling to work!)

How's that for a counter-argument?

Another fun thought - quantum entanglement is the phonomena where two atoms are "linked" such that a change to one instantly changes the other, regardless of the space between them. What if one of those molecules is in your brain? Mind control! No more free will! :lol:
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Like I said, I know only very little about quantum physics. What I do know combined with my knowledge of philosophy leads me to think the debate is currently irresolvable. I'm currently studying mathematics and physics thought...and quantum physics will definitely be one topic I dig deep into when I get that far.

Btw, Einstein's argument there is an appeal to consequences...even he was subject to fallacious reasoning. ;)


Btw, if electrons pass through our nervous system, wouldn't that still be a pre-determined thing (by the theories of quantum mechanics) in the eyes of a determinist? This is why I think the debate is irresolvable until I get ahold of better proof...the same things can be interpreted to support either side.
 
It basically says that when using a given set of theorems, there will invariably be things which are true, but cannot proven to be such. Being that humans have limited minds and lifespans, life itself is one such set - there will always be truth which alludes our ability to prove. (That's actually more of an extrapolation/expansion on it.)
 
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