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Free will is one of my foma. I don't actually believe it exists in a meaningful sense, but I live my life as though it does. Pretending that it exists makes m

by Crito 12y ago

Free will is one of my foma. I don't actually believe it exists in a meaningful sense, but I live my life as though it does. Pretending that it exists makes my life simpler and happier.

eru 12y ago
First, you'd need to come up with a definition of free will that makes sense.
- Crito 12y ago
  What I satisfy myself is: "People are responsible for their own actions". That relies on some emotionally intuitive notion of "responsible" which I cannot bootstrap from what I know of the universe. That is why "free will" is foma to me. Rationally I do not believe it to exist because I cannot define it rationally (not only do I find myself unable to do it, I believe that it is not possible).
lotsofmangos 12y ago
I don't think we will understand free will until we have more of a handle on time and causality. I think free will exists, however I don't think we understand what it is and are maybe just looking at the whole thing in the wrong way. Also, on the face of it, it would seem slightly odd for a completely clockwork universe to contain beings that worry about if they have free will.
- lutusp 12y ago
  > Also, on the face of it, it would seem slightly odd for a completely clockwork universe to contain beings that worry about if they have free will. Maybe, but to argue thew other side, we have a god-free universe filed with people who wonder if they've joined the one true church.
- judk 12y ago
  If you had free will, why would you worry about if you have it?
  - lotsofmangos 12y ago
    Cos you have the free will to do so might be as good a reason as any other.
- Crito 12y ago
  I wouldn't say that the universe is clockwork; quantum mechanics throws a wrench in that. However, unlike Penrose, I do not believe that quantum mechanics plays a crucial role in the human mind. I believe that the human mind could be (and probably is) clockwork. I find that it is difficult to get shit done with that mindset though, so I live my life as though I did not believe it.
  - eru 12y ago
    Quantum mechanics is actually way better than clockworks. If you ignore the infamous collapse of the wave function, quantum mechanics is fully linear and does NOT allow for chaos. A classic world of colliding billiard balls is much harder to predict.

by Crito 12y ago

Free will is one of my foma. I don't actually believe it exists in a meaningful sense, but I live my life as though it does. Pretending that it exists makes my life simpler and happier.

eru 12y ago

First, you'd need to come up with a definition of free will that makes sense.

Crito 12y ago
What I satisfy myself is: "People are responsible for their own actions". That relies on some emotionally intuitive notion of "responsible" which I cannot bootstrap from what I know of the universe. That is why "free will" is foma to me. Rationally I do not believe it to exist because I cannot define it rationally (not only do I find myself unable to do it, I believe that it is not possible).

lotsofmangos 12y ago

I don't think we will understand free will until we have more of a handle on time and causality. I think free will exists, however I don't think we understand what it is and are maybe just looking at the whole thing in the wrong way. Also, on the face of it, it would seem slightly odd for a completely clockwork universe to contain beings that worry about if they have free will.

lutusp 12y ago
> Also, on the face of it, it would seem slightly odd for a completely clockwork universe to contain beings that worry about if they have free will. Maybe, but to argue thew other side, we have a god-free universe filed with people who wonder if they've joined the one true church.
judk 12y ago
If you had free will, why would you worry about if you have it?
- lotsofmangos 12y ago
  Cos you have the free will to do so might be as good a reason as any other.
Crito 12y ago
I wouldn't say that the universe is clockwork; quantum mechanics throws a wrench in that. However, unlike Penrose, I do not believe that quantum mechanics plays a crucial role in the human mind. I believe that the human mind could be (and probably is) clockwork. I find that it is difficult to get shit done with that mindset though, so I live my life as though I did not believe it.
- eru 12y ago
  Quantum mechanics is actually way better than clockworks. If you ignore the infamous collapse of the wave function, quantum mechanics is fully linear and does NOT allow for chaos. A classic world of colliding billiard balls is much harder to predict.