These two things ("free will" and "determined by causes I can't perceive") are not almost the same, but instead are almost opposites. Of course, "determined by causes I can perceive" would also exclude free will. Ultimately, "free will" per se is precisely the opposite of "determinism". Speaking of determinism, can someone please clarify a confusion I've had about the consequences of quantum mechanics: 1) I used to believe in determinism, but then learned that QM implied some things happened ultimately by chance with no underlying mechanism. 2) Then I believed there must be hidden variables until I heard of Bell's Theorem, which is said to prove the non-existence of hidden variables in QM. 3) Then I heard that Bell's Theorem is valid only if non-locality is excluded. QUESTION: Does QM exclude the possibility of determinism? Is some kind of non-locality consistent with known physics? --Dan On 2013-08-06, at 10:07 AM, Dave Dyer wrote:
Unless you are a philosopher, the difference between "free will" and "determined by causes I can't perceive" is meaningless.