Daniel Dennett - Freedom Evolves - a Dangerous Idea Part 6

[henryporter101]

As a non scientist,I'm confused by Dennett's assertion that our freedom comes from biology and not from physics.Aren't the laws of biology reducible to the laws of physics?In any case,thanks for uploading this.

[Jabberdau]

Free will is very simple: Its choosing at random when you dont know the best choice or picking the solution that requires the least amount of work/easiest one to do.

For some reason this guy assumes ALL choices are always based on a carefull evaluation of what the best choice will be, but in many situations we simply dont have that info. We pick at random. Couple this with caos theory and you got a winner.

[beta2w]

I'm not too sober right now... but I thought Dennett was not trying to say determinism isn't true, but only that free will can still exist in a deterministic world?

[TomfromExeter]

I'm confused. Was there a coherent explanation of why determinism is not true there or did I miss something?

I have great respect for Dennett but I don't feel any the wiser on this subject.

[paradirob]

I especially agree with 82abhilash's last entry. It seems he was debating a so-called 'determinist.' These guys are so convinced they are right, as if they were determined to be. Many religious people also misunderstand what evolution is. I wonder if the former are related to the latter. Strict determinism (a misunderstanding of determinism) is almost religious in its insistence that it has got to be 'my way [their way] or the highway.' Try John M. Smith, The Major Transitions of Evolution.

[tempemonkey2323]

This man is an idiot. Sure, evolution gives us the ability to see into the future and manipulate our environments, and avoid things, but we manipulate, avoid things, and see into the future by the dictates of our brain.... We are just more powerful puppets... We must originate our choices to be free, he is appealing to compatibalism I would imagine.

[82abhilash]

For us to be puppets, we must be manipulated by an agent more intelligent than ourself. We are manipulated by the nature of the universe. Which we want to be, except in a manner that helps us avoid harm and enhance our well being. What is wrong with that?

[tempemonkey2323]

Sorry, but I dont see how this enables us to have morality saved. We are not responsible for our actions. (period)

[82abhilash]

We are still responsible for our actions because the same brain chemistry of ours, the one that is influenced by the nature of the world and is itself a product of natural processes, has the evolved capacity to recognize what it is influenced by and why it is influenced by it and take that into consideration. It is that capacity to think about our thinking that morally makes us responsible.

[paradirob]

All in all, Dennett is truly a great modern philosopher. Every sentence of all of his writings are packed with wonderful elucidation. Getting it right will accelerate global cultural diffusion in a beneficial way. We just want to get along in order to live in peace for as long as we live. I agree that upbringing and education make all the difference in the world. But I think that 'stop that crow' is our knee-jerk reactionary way of not immediately allowing ourselves to let go of tradition

[thorungal]

nice, thanks for posting