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Old 05-07-2007, 08:54 PM   #9 (permalink)
CSflim
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Location: Ireland
Do I think that my brain and my body at all times obey the laws of physics? Yes I do.

Do I believe that my thoughts somehow have the ability to "over-ride" the laws of physics? Certainly not.

So, does this mean that I believe that we don't have free will? Well, not quite. It very much hinges on what it is that you understand by the phrase "free will". I think that many people seem to believe that it is something as described above; that our "thoughts" have some ability to magically "poke about" at our neurons - going above and beyond what is possible physically. This is not something that I accept, so if one were to insist on this view of "free will", then I would have to admit that; no, I don't believe that we have that kind of free will.

So what else could "free will" be? I think that it is a much "higher level" concept than that which is described above. If you expect to find some phenomenon known as "free will" on the physical level of neurons, and charges and physics and so on, you are looking in the wrong place. Free will is something which exists at a much higher level - it is more of a psychological/social phenomenon than a physical one.

To give an analogy: A volume of gas at a given temperature has a particular pressure. This can be measured and quantified, and in my opinion should be considered a "real" property of the gas. But if you "magnify" things and look at a tiny tiny "bit" of the gas, you will just see individual molecules bouncing around in a vast emptiness - nothing remotely resembling "pressure" going on at this level.

A less remote analogy is to take a look at a novel. It is a book, with English sentences written on sheets of paper. It describes characters and a plot and so forth. If you look incredibly closely at the physical form of the novel, you will just find blobs of black ink on paper - if you are trying to find a 'plot' by examining the chemicals that make up the ink of the book, you are looking at the wrong level. A 'plot' is nothing to do with the 'physics' of the book.

So 'free will' is like the 'plot' or the 'narrative' of our brains. Seeing people as possessing free will allows you to understand their actions - it allows you to understand the motivations behind their actions, and allows you to make predictions about their future behavior given a certain set of circumstances, and allows you to engage in meaningful interactions with them.

So the question "Do we (really) have free will?" boils down to having the same answer as "Does a book (really) have a plot?". Giving an actual answer of 'yes' or 'no' to a question like that doesn't really matter. But for the record, I would answer them both with a 'yes'.
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