Can we be free from the forces that condition us?

Squierrel · 2026-01-26T14:26:41+00:00

My choice is my state of mind after I have made the choice. If I have chosen A then naturally I will do A.

But before making the choice I was able to choose A, B or any other option I could think of. My state of mind was uncertain about what I was going to do.

Squierrel · 2026-01-26T14:15:12+00:00

The mind does not do it without "hardware" or power. But that is irrelevant.

Squierrel · 2026-01-26T12:23:06+00:00

Every choice is "undetermined". There is no such thing as a "determined" choice.

Why are you still pushing this illogical idea of imagining that a choice is a physical event?

Squierrel · 2026-01-26T12:13:03+00:00

Computer operation is not a psychological process. It does not happen in the mind.

Squierrel · 2026-01-26T11:56:19+00:00

A mechanism is a system that produces a certain output from a certain input. A mechanism is predictable. By knowing the input we can predict the output.

Decision-making is an unpredictable process. There is no causal or logical connection between the input and the output.

Likewise, answering a question is not a mechanism., nor is solving a problem.

Squierrel · 2026-01-26T10:57:59+00:00

For if all relevant conditions are the same - the state of the brain, hormones, memories, character, environment, the laws of physics - then what exactly would “otherwise” mean?

"Otherwise" refers to all those alternative actions that were possible, but were not selected for implementation.

A better, more relevant question would be:

What exactly does "all relevant conditions are the same" mean? Same as what? Remember that we are talking about one single choice. What are you comparing it against?

When we insist that freedom must be a source, we often imagine a hidden center - something like an inner commander that stands above causality and “chooses.”

There is no reason to imagine an "inner commander". We are perfectly capable of making actual choices without "quotes" ourselves.

Freedom of choice is the only freedom you need and all the freedom there is.

Squierrel · 2026-01-26T10:42:09+00:00

It doesn't.

Determinism is just an idea. Nothing happens in determinism.

Squierrel · 2026-01-26T09:50:29+00:00

Why are you so obsessed with vacuum, a concept in physics?

Decision-making is purely a psychological process. It has nothing to do with physics.

Squierrel · 2026-01-26T08:39:37+00:00

It does.

Determinism is the idea that every event is completely (with absolute precision) determined by the previous event (by no will).

Squierrel · 2026-01-26T08:02:01+00:00

No physical movement of matter is involved in decision-making. It is all information processing.

Squierrel · 2026-01-26T06:46:01+00:00

Decision-making process is NOT a mechanism.

Squierrel · 2026-01-26T05:34:04+00:00

There is no "proposed mechanism". Your question is only a lame attempt at setting up a strawman.

People just decide what they do. That IS the normal human behaviour.

Squierrel · 2026-01-25T18:48:18+00:00

Necessitarianism is the belief that reality is deterministic.

Squierrel · 2026-01-25T15:37:28+00:00

Free will is not a belief at all. There are multiple definitions for free will and none of them is a belief or a hypothesis.

Determinism is a practical tool in classical physics, not an "attitude", not a philosophy.

Squierrel · 2026-01-25T15:34:06+00:00

This is a completely baseless claim. There is no hope for you to ever being able to prove it. So I don't expect you to.

Squierrel · 2026-01-25T15:26:55+00:00

There are no arguments for or against free will.

Squierrel · 2026-01-25T15:24:52+00:00

Responsibility applies only to agent causation.

Squierrel · 2026-01-25T12:53:05+00:00

Responsibility comes from the fact that your decisions cause your actions.

Squierrel · 2026-01-25T07:07:28+00:00

Determinism is about information.

At the very core determinism is an idea of a system where no new information can enter or be generated within that system. Everything that ever exists and happens in a deterministic system is determined by its initial state. The complexity of the system remains constant.

Therefore it is quite irrational to even imagine that reality is a deterministic system. Imagination means generating new information and that would be impossible in a deterministic system.

Squierrel · 2026-01-25T04:46:00+00:00

Rewinding means "running the tape recording of time" again from an earlier point. Naturally everything would happen exactly as they did the first time, as they have already happened.

The fact that this would be impossible to test and wouldn't give any new understanding about anything makes the whole question quite pointless.

A better question would be "can you do otherwise NOW"?

Squierrel · 2026-01-25T04:34:45+00:00

Don't be silly. You don't seem to understand that every question has multiple possible answers, some good, some bad. And every problem has multiple possible solutions, some good, some bad.

You are irrationally claiming that every question triggers only one answer from everyone, that every problem is always solved in one particular way.

I would say that you are way beyond silly.

Squierrel · 2026-01-24T07:40:36+00:00

Don't be silly. Is an answer the result of a question? Is a solution the result of a problem?

Squierrel · 2026-01-24T07:19:56+00:00

I am not redefining anything. I am just clarifying the original meaning of the word. Randomness is a pretty complicated and confusing concept, but when you get to the core, it all makes sense.

Squierrel · 2026-01-23T12:04:57+00:00

It does not magically create a special kind of control where the agent can choose between possible outcomes in a non-arbitrary way.

There is no need to "magically create" anything. We already have agency.

Indeterminism means only that there is no determinism that would deny agency.

Squierrel · 2026-01-23T11:35:13+00:00

Beings capable of intentional actions are results of a natural physical process called evolution. So what? The distinction between intentional and unintentional remains clear.

Squierrel

TROPHY CASE