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Alchoholic Hero · 08-07-2003, 11:00 AM

In all honesty, I'm suprised that no one's jumped on this yet.

The free will debate (debacle) is the thorn in the side of every philosopher this side of Plato: the realization that if something is omnipotent, or omnescient, rather, then the premise for free will goes down the drain: if the future can be known to anyone, be they celestial or not, then the free will of man cannot have any place in the scheme of things.

Firstly, the science: quantum theory is currently trying to explain the possibility of both free will and a ...for lack of a better word, divinity...that will let us have our cake and eat it too. The premise is this: particles that compose atoms, and therefore all matter (with the exception of anti-matter, but that's another story), called quarks, act erratic, and are unpredictable by any current laws of science. There exists a theoretical framework that these particles should act under, but, as stated before, they are unpredictable. The implication here, is that the brain is a fundamental organ that is posessed by man (and woman, settle down) that serves as a magnifier for this random behavior, and does so to such an extent that it eventually manifests itself as an actual representation of free will, or the choices that the person to whom the brain belongs actually occur as a result of those choices.

Novel idea, no?

I'd handle the religious implications of this right now, but I want to go home.

08-07-2003, 11:00 AM	#2 (permalink)
Alchoholic Hero Upright Location: Providence, RI	In all honesty, I'm suprised that no one's jumped on this yet. The free will debate (debacle) is the thorn in the side of every philosopher this side of Plato: the realization that if something is omnipotent, or omnescient, rather, then the premise for free will goes down the drain: if the future can be known to anyone, be they celestial or not, then the free will of man cannot have any place in the scheme of things. Firstly, the science: quantum theory is currently trying to explain the possibility of both free will and a ...for lack of a better word, divinity...that will let us have our cake and eat it too. The premise is this: particles that compose atoms, and therefore all matter (with the exception of anti-matter, but that's another story), called quarks, act erratic, and are unpredictable by any current laws of science. There exists a theoretical framework that these particles should act under, but, as stated before, they are unpredictable. The implication here, is that the brain is a fundamental organ that is posessed by man (and woman, settle down) that serves as a magnifier for this random behavior, and does so to such an extent that it eventually manifests itself as an actual representation of free will, or the choices that the person to whom the brain belongs actually occur as a result of those choices. Novel idea, no? I'd handle the religious implications of this right now, but I want to go home. __________________ Suicide killed many... Drink, and the Devil, did the rest. -Hemmingway.