On Sat, May 10, 2014 at 4:36 AM, Dave Dyer <ddyer@real-me.net> wrote:
Current physics doesn't include any mechanism for "consciousness" or "will" to alter physical events that lead to things like neurons firing.
You either have to postulate a new state of physics that corresponds to consciousness, or accept that there is no such thing as free will.
Only if you define free will as being non-determinism. I consider the fact that what I do is related to the inputs that come into my brain through my senses to be a *good* thing, and think that if I did things that had no cause-and-effect relationship to the situation I was in, that would make me less free, not more. For further eludication of this argument and other interesting thoughts on free will, I highly recommend the book "Elbow Room; varieties of Free Will Worth Having", http://www.amazon.com/Elbow-Room-Varieties-Worth-Wanting/dp/0262540428 by Dan Dennett. And for discussion of the nature of consciousness, I even more strongly recommend Consciousness Explained, by the same author: http://www.amazon.com/Consciousness-Explained-Daniel-C-Dennett/dp/0316180661.... I really think he has it right, and this is the only case I know of where I consider an age-old problem of philosophy to have actually been solved. Andy
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