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I just came up with this stupid theory for the fun of it. Say time is self contained in the universe, just like all frames in a DVD. The process of going back

by Thiz 12y ago

I just came up with this stupid theory for the fun of it. Say time is self contained in the universe, just like all frames in a DVD. The process of going back and forth thru frames is what we call time, you need an observer capable of processing frames as input to produce information from them. Without the information processor, you still could see the universe as a whole (like the DVD) but not be able to see the frames stored in it in a sequencial manner. The only big difference between a DVD and the universe is that the latter is infinite. Well forget about it. If everything is self-contained then it gives determinism an upper hand against free will, and I hate determinism. Perhaps the universe is like a DVD being burned as we speak and free will still reigns? I said it was all for fun, don't be too hard on me. I always thought time was absolute, and perception was relative. Well, tell that to a god's particle before being created. There is no time in the void.

PavlovsCat 12y ago
I kind of enjoy to intellectually "know" (or think I know) that there is no free will -- certainly not to the degree our consciousness often thinks there is -- and still to appreciate and say yes to the illusion. I don't know why, but I still do :) Such is the power of the mind. You can know there is no free will and still believe there is, and you can know that belief to be false and still allow it in, like a dirty old dog you let sleep on the couch because its your favourite dog and you love it deeply. We can do that, and I find that beautiful. Also, from http://www.einstein-website.de/z_biography/credo.html http://www.einstein-website.de/z_biography/credo.html : > I do not believe in free will. Schopenhauer's words: 'Man can do what he wants, but he cannot will what he wills,' accompany me in all situations throughout my life and reconcile me with the actions of others, even if they are rather painful to me. This awareness of the lack of free will keeps me from taking myself and my fellow men too seriously as acting and deciding individuals, and from losing my temper. But I don't like that translation too much, so here is my own very slight variation on it: > I do not believe in the freedom of the will. Schopenhauer's word: "Man may be able to do, what he wants, but he can't will, what he wants", accompanies me in all situations of life and reconciles me with the deeds of mankind, even though they are quite painful to me. This realization of the unfreedom of the will protects me from taking myself and my fellow human beings all too seriously as acting and judging individuals, and from loosing my good humour.
- aninhumer 12y ago
  I feel like the idea that free will is an "illusion" kind of misses the more fundamental realisation of Compatiblism: Will doesn't need to exist as something external to the rules of the universe for it to have meaning. We might not have "free will" (whatever that means), but we definitely have "will", and that's all that ever mattered.

by Thiz 12y ago

PavlovsCat 12y ago

I kind of enjoy to intellectually "know" (or think I know) that there is no free will -- certainly not to the degree our consciousness often thinks there is -- and still to appreciate and say yes to the illusion. I don't know why, but I still do :) Such is the power of the mind. You can know there is no free will and still believe there is, and you can know that belief to be false and still allow it in, like a dirty old dog you let sleep on the couch because its your favourite dog and you love it deeply. We can do that, and I find that beautiful. Also, from http://www.einstein-website.de/z_biography/credo.html http://www.einstein-website.de/z_biography/credo.html : > I do not believe in free will. Schopenhauer's words: 'Man can do what he wants, but he cannot will what he wills,' accompany me in all situations throughout my life and reconcile me with the actions of others, even if they are rather painful to me. This awareness of the lack of free will keeps me from taking myself and my fellow men too seriously as acting and deciding individuals, and from losing my temper. But I don't like that translation too much, so here is my own very slight variation on it: > I do not believe in the freedom of the will. Schopenhauer's word: "Man may be able to do, what he wants, but he can't will, what he wants", accompanies me in all situations of life and reconciles me with the deeds of mankind, even though they are quite painful to me. This realization of the unfreedom of the will protects me from taking myself and my fellow human beings all too seriously as acting and judging individuals, and from loosing my good humour.

aninhumer 12y ago
I feel like the idea that free will is an "illusion" kind of misses the more fundamental realisation of Compatiblism: Will doesn't need to exist as something external to the rules of the universe for it to have meaning. We might not have "free will" (whatever that means), but we definitely have "will", and that's all that ever mattered.