Free will Definition and 94 Threads

source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18684016/?GT1=9951

How must we overcome the laws of physics as independent actors? Can there be a science that explains this personal divergence from mechanical description? Is free will the rule of the universe rather than the exception?

I stole the idea from this thread, but I want to ask the question differently. If the man is wise enough to predict major*[/color] consequences of his actions in respect to the goal he pursues, is he really free to make choises? He would seem to be forced to act in the one and only...

I'm not sure where to put this so I'll start here. If we accept the posits of the Copenhagen Interpretation, or accept that light is both a wave and a particle, how does this affect the debate about free will and predeterminism or doesn't it and why?

So for Descartes the essence of the self is thinking. Thinking propels us towards truth. Our free will is unbounded when we exercise judgement based on rationally derived truths. In other words the highest grade of free will occurs when we are basing our decisions on reason alone. Is...

Hello there, Relativity implies that we live in a block universe where both the past and the future are pre-defined--they are alreay out there. Time is a fourth dimension, just like space, so it means it exists in both directions--both the past and the future. Has the paradox of "frozen...

What do you think about http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0604079 ? Let me explain how I understood it, but it is possible that I misunderstood something. In simple terms, the theorem says the following: If humans have free will, then the rest of nature is not deterministic. But if you treat...

I have read the following argument as proof that if an omiscient being can see the future, free will does not exist. 1. An infallible, omniscient, being exists. [Assumption] 2. This being has foreknowledge that event 'A' will occur. [Definition of omniscience] 3. 'A' must occur. [Definition...

Moral responsibility : When an agent performs or fails to perform a morally significant action, we sometimes think that a particular kind of response is warranted. Praise and blame are perhaps the most obvious forms this reaction might take. For example, one who encounters a car accident may be...

http://www.arxiv.org/PS_cache/quant-ph/pdf/0604/0604079.pdf" the currently much discussed Free Will theorem, which deduces the implication in the name if this thread from three plausible axioms. Based on an EPR type thought experiment, it makes the point that if we allow the experimenters...

I was thinking of the subject today. I remembered back in high school we were able to use the new TI-81 graphing calculators. (sorry if that dates me). One of the cool features was being able to program simple games. One such game was Dice. To get more to the point, one of the functions was...

I have these ideas about these things and I would like your opinion. You may not agree, but it is what I think. First, I would like to say that Fate/Destiny and Causality are linked. To me, fate predestines things and people, which is why people or outside infulences of a person control...

The so-called "Darwinian model" of free will See http://www.geocities.com/peterdjones/det_darwin.html#introduction The above link introduces the "Darwinian model", which purports to show how indeterminacy can endow an otherwise deterministic agent with free will. I prefer to call this model...

If God allows free will for an individual, how would such free will differ for a person without a God? If there is no difference, might that infer that a God proof is moot for these people?

Following the the logical positivist convention of defining a term in use I am seeking a definition of free will as it occurs in the proposition "[agent]A has free will". This will involve formulating an equivalent proposition which uses no synonyms of "free will". I believe it can be done in...

For this, I am defining free will as "The power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate or divine will." (Source - dictionary.com) To add my own words, instead of solely something out of a dictionary, the main point I am giving by...

A study was printed in Psychology Today (maybe six years ago), that followed identical twins separated at birth. It turns out that their "chosen" professions, their wives and husbands, their pets, the timing of significant events, etc. all matched up like a pre-programmed sequence. So, for...

Freedom and Free Will From Merriam Webster’s Collegiate dictionary, 10th edition, 1997 Free: not determined by anything beyond its own nature or being. Freedom: The absence of necessity, coercion or constraint in choice or action. Free will: 1 : Voluntary choice or decision 2 ...

I think most people agree that the UP falsifies classic determinism, but what about free will? I ran into this site a few weeks ago and wonder what your thoughts might be on it? http://www.futurehi.net/archives/000120.html Super Free Will: Metaprogramming and Quantum Indeterminism Art...

i may have some facts mixed up in this story, so tell me if I'm saying anything wrong. einstein wasn't a fan of quantum mechanics--he didn't deny it's results, but thought the method of approaching it was wrong. he thought that there was something fundamentally wrong with the fact that you...

Free will is not free! Before starting this thread, I read all of thread "On Free will," which Imparcticle created from thread "Can You prove you Exist" because it had converted into a discussion of "Free Will."His new thread seems to have converted into a discussion of "Random" - First...

There are those who argue for free will, those for determinism, and others for a mixture. I argue that there is no free will or determinism. Is such a ground of mine possible?

This thread is a continuation of a discussion that went off topic on the thread "Can You Prove You Exist?" on the General Philosophy forum. I am doing the honors of starting a thread specific to the subject of the discussion, which was obviously free will. Here is the short discussion: As...

I was reading an essay (that has been simplied such that it takes on the format of notes but still is like an essay...not sure how to categorize it) at this webpage : http://www.sfu.ca/philosophy/swartz/freewill1.htm#intro which concerns free will. At this time, I have only read through the...

I'm interested in exploring the nature and methods of defining random and determined events. Please forget, at least for now, their applications to free will. For example, is there some reason for defining one in terms of the other, as in: An event is random if [conditions]. An event is...

please, i need input this is my first post in this forum, so hello everyone. :biggrin: i'd like to say that i have never really had experience in philosophy so if anyone recognizes my thoughts as someone elses theory then please tell me so i can look into it.now to the real stuff. I would...

:smile: there is a classic argument against the existence of God (an omnipotent being who has given men/women Free Will). It argues that if God exists, we cannot have Free Will. It goes like this: Since God is omnipotent, God should know our future. It follows that we cannot deviate from...

hmnn so I got into an argument the other day about wether or not we have free will, and I came up with if you believe we have free will, we would have to deny that there is an omnipotent omnicient God. assume there is a God and there is no dobut, (please don't be stupid and start arguing...

Is God free to do as he please's? If so what certaintly do we have that he ultimatly is not evil, or weaher he has the capacity to be or not be evil?

The dilemma is that we might either be free, meaning ethically unrestrained, or free, meaning universally conscientious. What determines the outcome between the two?

Free Will? Do humans really have free will? If god is an all knowing and all loving being than wouldn't god know before hand what decision you would make if you were presented with a "choice" ? If you don't choose what god already knows what you will choose than god is not perfect. But if...

If a man is in a cage, but wants to be there, is he then "free", since he is doing what he wants to do? If a man is in a cage but doesn't know it, is he "free" since he is not conscious of any limiting factor? What makes a person free? Is it the ability to do anything, and choosing one course...

Looking for thoughts on how Identity, Purpose, and Free Will are related in defining the 'self'. This is making the assumption that free will does operate at some level and to different degrees within conscious entities. This is also assuming that these concepts are all intrinsically part of...

Does free will exist? according to Newton the universe is deterministic, and therefore free will does not fit into this. But since the advent of quantum physics, the universe is not said to be entirely deterministic, is there now room for free will? some physicists believe that the wave...

Hello, I've just joined this forum, and I hope this is the correct place to ask these questions ... Anyone want to talk about time? I love thinking about this notion ... Einstein believed in ‘block time’, that the future is already there, that there’s no difference between the past, the...

Which do you believe and why?

can these things go together, for me - how can one have free will without excerising the abliity to use there will in actions, that not to say that all actions thus are a result of ones will, for example other peoples might interfere, or even other events, but there seems that on some level and...

So... Can anyone show proof that free will exists? That we are not merely directed by past events? I believe I have asked before, but did not receive proof. And no, this is not for university. I just have trouble finding absolute proof of free will.

since matter and energy always behave the same way so all of our actions could be calculated if having not a soul the option of free will would necesary imply the existence of a soul or other else wouldn't exist a soul but how do you know you have free will?

Since the original thread on fate vs. free will has been lost, I'll try to duplicate my contribution to the discussion here. Basically, I'm not sure that the concept of free will is actually meaningful in any special sense, if we define a free choice in the conventional sense, as follows: given...

Is it just me, or did the 'fate vs. free will' thread vanish? I know that approximately 7 hours ago I made my last post to that thread, and got a weird error saying that the page couldn't be displayed. After that, I got the same error when I tried entering any specific forum on PF. Now the...

can i know what is the problem with free will and determinism because i saw a lot of people in PF aguing/discussing about it. and what is the problem with 'mind and brain'? can someone please explain it to me. thank you

Let me start here... There are two known variables which fabricate a persons behavior. One being genetics, the other being enviroment... it does not matter the proportion of each. the only thing that matters is that they are unchangebable by the person under the influence of these two...

It has been argued that determinism is essential for psychology... the 'free' (or self-generated) kind of behaviour does not exist. So.. is our behaviour determined or is it free? How can we chose one over the other? On what basis can you chose one over the other? Are there implications of this...