Free Will
I’m very interested in the concept of free will and the implications that stem from the degree to which free will exists. I’m of the opinion that free will is largely an illusion. We think that we make decisions with our conscious minds largely free of the influence of instinct or similarly programmed responses when in fact the opposite is true. This Scientific American article asks “If people come to believe that they don’t have free will, what will the consequences be for moral responsibility?”
What’s the difference between a non-deterministic system and a system that’s so complex that the results, given a specific set of inputs, are largely unpredictable?
I don’t think you’re ever going to see the general population come to the conclusion that they lack free will. Even if it’s only an epiphenomenon, it’s something that people personally experience, which makes it real hard to convince them they’re wrong. Perhaps, because they don’t actually have free will, it’s not possible for them to decide they don’t believe they have free will.
Comment by Chris — August 21, 2008 @ 9:23 am