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Yes, they pretty much are. Extremely complicated, organic, robots. But that is not the point. Your choices depend on your personality and abilities, which in tu

Yes, they pretty much are. Extremely complicated, organic, robots. But that is not the point. Your choices depend on your personality and abilities, which in turn depend on your upbringing and experiences.

throwawaysea 6y ago
I think you’re getting close to arguing that there is no free will and that everything in the universe is therefore luck or randomness. Perhaps one way to look at it is that even if humans philosophically are robots, the ones who sacrifice more (via hard work) deserve different, better outcomes.
WalterBright 6y ago
If I followed you around for a day, I could point out all the choices you chose to make and could have chosen to do differently.
- anoncake 6y ago
  And you would be wrong every single time because free will is an illusion. That aside, people always make the best choices they can – no one chooses to chose badly. You can't blame them for not making a better choice since you can't expect anyone to do something they cannot.
  - loco5niner 6y ago
    I can't tell you the number of nights I told myself "I should go to bed early" knowing I would get a good nights sleep and do better at work the next day but chose to stay up late playing video games. I chose to choose badly, I knew better, and I accept the blame (and consequences). (This also comes into play when I make food/exercise choices btw. I certainly do not make the best choices I can on a daily basis)
    - anoncake 6y ago
      No you didn't, you were unable to make the better choice (likely because of limited willpower). No mentally healthy person intentionally makes bad choices, that would be self-harm.
      - loco5niner 6y ago
        I think the more apt phrase is "I lack the discipline". I do think there is a level of fooling myself when do choose badly, thinking "It'll be fine, no big deal", when down deep I know it will cause a problem. Mentally healthy people make bad choices all the time, knowing they will pay for it later, but wanting to enjoy "the now".
        anoncake 6y ago
        > I think the more apt phrase is "I lack the discipline". OK. > Mentally healthy people make bad choices all the time, knowing they will pay for it later, but wanting to enjoy "the now". Of course they do. But they do it although the choice is bad, not because it is.
        loco5niner 6y ago
        > Of course they do. But they do it although the choice is bad, not because it is. Agreed.

throwawaysea 6y ago

I think you’re getting close to arguing that there is no free will and that everything in the universe is therefore luck or randomness. Perhaps one way to look at it is that even if humans philosophically are robots, the ones who sacrifice more (via hard work) deserve different, better outcomes.

WalterBright 6y ago

If I followed you around for a day, I could point out all the choices you chose to make and could have chosen to do differently.

anoncake 6y ago
And you would be wrong every single time because free will is an illusion. That aside, people always make the best choices they can – no one chooses to chose badly. You can't blame them for not making a better choice since you can't expect anyone to do something they cannot.
- loco5niner 6y ago
  I can't tell you the number of nights I told myself "I should go to bed early" knowing I would get a good nights sleep and do better at work the next day but chose to stay up late playing video games. I chose to choose badly, I knew better, and I accept the blame (and consequences). (This also comes into play when I make food/exercise choices btw. I certainly do not make the best choices I can on a daily basis)
  - anoncake 6y ago
    No you didn't, you were unable to make the better choice (likely because of limited willpower). No mentally healthy person intentionally makes bad choices, that would be self-harm.
    - loco5niner 6y ago
      I think the more apt phrase is "I lack the discipline". I do think there is a level of fooling myself when do choose badly, thinking "It'll be fine, no big deal", when down deep I know it will cause a problem. Mentally healthy people make bad choices all the time, knowing they will pay for it later, but wanting to enjoy "the now".
      - anoncake 6y ago
        > I think the more apt phrase is "I lack the discipline". OK. > Mentally healthy people make bad choices all the time, knowing they will pay for it later, but wanting to enjoy "the now". Of course they do. But they do it although the choice is bad, not because it is.
        loco5niner 6y ago
        > Of course they do. But they do it although the choice is bad, not because it is. Agreed.