Vote in my 'free will' poll... or not, its your decision.

[greenstang1313]

i think theres 2 possibilities...

A.) time is just an illusion as everything is actually happening at the same time, we are just in one specific moment of it. meaning the future has already happened (and is happening right now) and we're just being led along the line thats cut out for us. i think if this is the case than "God" is basically the right now moment. its hard to explain but imagine a piece of string laid out in a straight line and an ant starts at one end of the string and travels on the string to the other end. the string is time and the ant is God being there for the sole purpose of experiencing the string aka time.

B.) we are at the front of time, blazing our own trail with free will

Either way, it doesnt really matter if we have free will or not, because we can still make decisions on our own. Like i could decide to go out in the blizzard right now and probably end up in ditch, but im not going to. It doesnt really matter to me if its my destiny to stay home or if im freely deciding to stay home, either way im staying home so who cares lol.

 

[P49Y-CY]

also as I think harris mentions, an individual who is somehow able to crack this would be like the next Darwin, with results that would be more far reaching and much more controversial.

 

[canibus]

Well said. I remember hearing about that study and thinking its just a matter of time really.



"I chose to stay out of trouble and live an honorable life." That comment is a good example of why I think there is a lot of resistance towards the idea of the illusion of free will. Most of this resistance stems from pride, ego, and the personal responsibility of accomplishment. This doesnt mean you cant be proud of who you are, just like it doesnt mean you have to be ashamed for your shortcomings. It means that somewhere along the way, you learned (your brain formed in a specific way) certain things through experiences out of your control that led you down the path youre on.

Had to read it a few times for it to make sense and after some time of thought my brain fried. I believe you make a very valid point. I think the variable that you're leaving out is the consequence or punishment. For example. A career criminal finally gets caught and goes to jail. It scares the living crap out of him. Gets out, leads a crime free life the rest of his days. According to your theory he was programmed to be a criminal, yet he turned his life around.


What do you think?

 

[Ron Mexico]

I've got the rush song in my head now. thanks.

 

[joeg215]

Had to read it a few times for it to make sense and after some time of thought my brain fried. I believe you make a very valid point. I think the variable that you're leaving out is the consequence or punishment. For example. A career criminal finally gets caught and goes to jail. It scares the living crap out of him. Gets out, leads a crime free life the rest of his days. According to your theory he was programmed to be a criminal, yet he turned his life around.


What do you think?

Up to the moment he was sent to prison, he was programmed (i think conditioned would be a better word, more or less same shit though) to be a criminal. While he is serving his time, his brain is in a constant state of change. There is tons of new information here that he has never experienced. Lots and lots of feedback. All this new information is and will be put to use because of the affect it is having on him. Once he is out, all this new information is being processed and his brain pretty much looks at everything that has happened and says, "nah dude, not worth it".

That is a great example because of the great debate whether prison is actually about rehabilitation, retribution, and/or merely isolation. In reality though, I dont think your scenario happens too often in real life. Thats why I think this is important. We could eventually find a way to really help people by understanding them, not just cast them aside out of misguided (though understandable) hate.

 

[joeg215]

also as I think harris mentions, an individual who is somehow able to crack this would be like the next Darwin, with results that would be more far reaching and much more controversial.

I definitely agree. Its incredibly controversial and I think its going to be cracked in our lifetime. Should be fun.

 

[TheCPE]

I definitely agree. Its incredibly controversial and I think its going to be cracked in our lifetime. Should be fun.

I wish that were true... I think cracking our brains is the last "puzzle" but I don't expect it too happen in my life time and I'm young!

Once we understand how our brain works and creates consciousness we can create artificial intelligence and well...

 

[joeg215]

I wish that were true... I think cracking our brains is the last "puzzle" but I don't expect it too happen in my life time and I'm young!

Once we understand how our brain works and creates consciousness we can create artificial intelligence and well...

Replicating our consciousness is a whole other story but yeah, AI might not be that bad if they use proper algorithms (says the guy at skynet LOL)

 

[TheCPE]

Replicating our consciousness is a whole other story but yeah, AI might not be that bad if they use proper algorithms (says the guy at skynet LOL)

The time it will take to produce human equivalent consciousness should allow sufficient time to develop the appropriate ethics and legality to handle the new frontier.

Hehe or not

 

[P49Y-CY]

isn't the "hard problem of consciousness" essentially the fact that the consiousness of any organism can never be proven scientifically?

 

[TheCPE]

isn't the "hard problem of consciousness" essentially the fact that the consiousness of any organism can never be proven scientifically?

Interesting point, I believe it could be argued though that there is obtainable empirical evidence of side effects of consciousness.