Do you have free will?

[JOYOUSONEX]

The ultimate contradiction about "free will" is within the Christian religions. Ask a Christian if God knows everything, that ever was, is and ever will be. They must answer yes, or else he couldn't be God. If this is true, then God knows if you are destined to go to hell or not, doesn't He? So much for free will.

[CheeseGenius]

LOL at the length of the comments. Oh well. daidiaiksdhjksdhfkajasdkjsgfhj­ashfjskhfjdgfhjdbfkjdhjfkdhskj­fhdkjshfkdsjfdsfds. doomd

[sTeVie4TV]

What makes us do what we do? Why are we here? Science has no answers.. If we are just forms of energy -why have other species not developed in the same way? Every creature on earth unique - no one living thing is exactly the same. We are similars who behave in similar ways and we behave according to how our soceity is structured. We are mostly about programing and education. But we are all unique. Even those who watch Shane Dawson videos and respond with 'LOL' and 'Fail'.

[chefshitpiece]

@sTeVie4TV We are all unique. We are different from other species bcuz of evolution. WHY we evolved the way we did and they did not is a harder question. DO we have free will? Of course not. We do not really make 'decisions' or 'choices'. A decision is when two aspects of ourself want to take the driver's seat, and whichever one is stronger get's the wheel. You can never act in a way incongruent with your personality, but it is your DNA that ultimately defines that personality.

[wesley111111111111]

(1.d) so do i believe in free will? i believe in determinalism, and consciousness. i could say that through our actions we can merge with consciousness, but any attempt made here would just be because of determinalism, and even merging completely with consciousness would just be determinalism, even if reality did not exist anymore. so maybe they are actually no different from each other, and consciousness is just a required and inevitable force, no different than gravity.

[wesley111111111111]

(1.d) so do i believe in free will? i believe in determinalism, and consciousness. i could say that through our actions we can merge with consciousness, but any attempt made here would just be because of determinalism, and even merging completely with consciousness would just be determinalism, even if reality did not exist anymore. so maybe they are actually no different from each other, and consciousness is just a required and inevitable force, no different than gravity.

[wesley111111111111]

(1.c) without consciousness, with nothing to hold it together, reality exists not as a grid, but as separate particles in separate dimensions, not relating to each other. consciousness is the thing that sees two particles and says you are here and you are here, in relation to me. check out on youtube - double slit experiment.

[wesley111111111111]

(1.b) for some reason, there is something inside the machines, and possibly inside of everything in the entire universe, watching it all play out. there's not really a reason for this consciousness, other than the universe would not exist without it. that is now one of the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics - reality requires consciousness to exist, and for consciousness to exist, there must be some sort of a reality for it to exist in.

[wesley111111111111]

(1.a) i accidentally deleted my first post; i'll attempt to paraphrase it.

i am here. watching this. it is obvious, to anyone who really looks into it, that everything we do is the result of our past experiences and our current state of being. but, that does not remove the fact that we have a conscious experience. if it were all just machines, that's fine, the machines can continue to move around, consume energy, and reproduce, but that's not all that's there.

[wesley111111111111]

(3) maybe animals don't really give a shit about anything more than their evolutionary instinct, and possibly it was evolved into our brains to think that there is something higher than our brain that is really going on. that still doesn't exclude the fact that we are here, watching ourselves do things.

[wesley111111111111]

(2) because all of this body's actions are dictated by it's past experiences, and we can't take in outside information instantly (it has to be percieved by a sensory organ and then travel along a nerve or two into the brain, which then processes it, eliminates what it thinks is a misperception, and then creates a hologram image of what it thinks is really out there), we always live a split second behind reality. this observer exists in the now moment of reality.

[HodEnoch]

If we are nothing more than a mass of electro-biological impulses then every opinion on any subject is absolutely subjective and truly meaningless. If my only enjoyment in life is to rape, murder and steal then nobody has any moral grounds to stop me. I have every right to pursue my said pleasures. If you get in my way I will step on you. Morality is nothing more than an exercise of intellectual curiosity and you are nothing more than a cosmic accident. (however I believe in God.)

[romanblood]

I love Psychology vs Philsophy, Nature vs Nurture. It's good. Say Miles, I suggest you talk about Kuhn and Psychology as a Science.

[neonhandshakelove]

I never did psychology but I've been trying to tell people this theory for ages. You pretty much explained it very well on the spot.

They just completely disagree, or don't get it, as they seem to believe every decision is purely their own.

I think we're living in a life that was made up for us years ago caused by our knock on affect of decisions, reactions and influences of where we are and people that surrounds us.

[unseenstrings]

What is a lighter to a savage who has never seen one? What was a volcano to our primitive ancestors? Why do humans seem to automatically assume paranormal forces are at work when something inexplicable is seen or happens? Have god believers and believers in the paranormal killed off so many skeptics that humans have evolved a superstitious nature? Is there thus now a god-gene? Do we believe in freewill for that reason and not just because the Church and Major Media selfishly promote the notion?

[Dreadlord67]

I wanna be an author, but I definatly wanna take some kind of psychology course.

[jtst1]

So what clases did you decide to take to become a counsler, or was it therapist, im sorry i can't remember, but anyway really nice stuff.

[jtst1]

dude this is some deep shit, i love it. im only 15 i can understand what your saying to a level, cause my subconsiouse *sp* wont let me think any further...or mabye it will and im not trying, i dont know but im taking phsycolgy next year at my high school and i think i will enjoy it, any tips or anything for me?

[Blade376]

Heya - I didn't do psychology at A level and people I spoke to who did, did not enjoy it. But then again many people on my university course did. So i guess its a good way of trying it out before committing to a 3 year university course =]

[fireman12888]

At present in my psy. class I have the burden to borne the incompetence of the teacher. Of course this may not be applied to others, but Im just another fellow complaining to his misfurtune and disappointment.

[chefshitpiece]

@jtst1 I gotta tip for ya:

Your life is based on your decisions

Your decisions are based on your perspective of the world

Your perspective is based on your personality

Your personality is located in your brain(pre-frontal cortex)

Your brain is wired by your DNA

YOur DNA is the luck of the draw

There4, luck is everything!

There4, nobody is better than you! Congradulations!

[jtst1]

@chefshitpiece Lol yo dude that was a post from three years ago. But thanks for the advice.

[marjan15]

free will is an illusion

[ThePrincessGherkin]

i know people have stopped replying now, but hey. if we had no free will, we wouldnt know. we would believe we had free will but go on to do the pre-determined tasks as if they were our own choosing. i have lots of theories but i myself cannot make sense of them.

[davethebard]

how many times do i have to proove determinism to be incorrect? i agree that human behavior is largely shaped by determined factors. however, the level of consciousness that we have gives us the option to respond in different ways, if we choose to. our choices are shaped by determinism. the choices we make are conscious and made in free will, but only if we dont allow the subconcious to run on auto pilot.

[XonStationary]

Subconscious or not, you're completely on auto pilot, Dave. You can "disprove" it as often as you want, determinism is still correct, unless we have a "soul". But can it ever be PROVEN that we don't have one, as Blade suggests? Is that proof around the corner? I don't think so. At least it can never be proven CONCLUSIVELY, however unlikely it is.

[unseenstrings]

No metaphysical claim can be disproven. You cannot disprove the existance of invisible and immaterial pink unicorns. However, we would still be living in the Dark Ages worring about such matters if it wasn't for the scientific method. And the foundation of the scientific method is the epistemological and methodological principle called methodological naturalism. It is our candle in the dark.

[maroom1]

Even if we assume that determinism is incorrect, this doesn't mean that we have free will

Free will is theoretically impossible

Please watch this video

youtube(dot)com/watch?v=SthbQd­rxeLw

[ohellinollllllllll]

i think this idea is becoming quite credible with Wegner writing that "the initiation of the voluntary act appears to be an unconscious cerebral process. clearly, free will or free choice of whether to act now could not be the initiating agent, contrary to one widely held view."

[MutantDealer]

mind gobbling

[billnjune]

I found your comments interesting, but since you have no authority for your thoughts they really have very little substances. If you would take a look at the Bible to see what God has to say about this subject you would find it has a lot to say about free-will and the like.

[timtambourino]

our imediate thoughts have free will but the end results of our processing discards it and we are left with something that fits in with the conformity or rebellion against society. :) just a thought :P

gd subject 2 bring up :)

<3

[timtambourino]

hey very interesting subject... im writing a lit essay about othello and free will and found this very helpful. personally i rekon we all make an initial subconcious decision indetermined by any outside factors, the one we truly believe is right, and then we process factors of our lives such as other peoples influences and past experiences or watever, which determines our ultimate decision.

[msinummoc]

interessting

[lalaururaa]

Is this how people get up with subjects for conversations and is this how it explains how one subject goes into another totally different one? Do we really think or speak or act for ourselves, which brings us to the free will part in the subject ;)

This comment is already way too long, but i just wanted to comment your video (i had to create a profile for that)

[Crowydoodle21]

I quite like your theory and it is quite ingoing with subconcious thinking. The possibility of that occuring would depend on many extraneous variables i suppose, such as whether you noticed the tv or not (even on a subconcious level) or how much focus was being put on each.

[lalaururaa]

For example: you're talking with some friends in the living room, the news is on television, it's about a girl who got killed by a crocodile because she jumped in a lake, trying to avoid a big swarm of bees. You don't pay attention because you're talking. 2 days later, you're walking in a toystore with your mother(or whoever you like) trying to find a present for your nephew's birthday, you see a videogame with bees on the cover, and suddenly wonder if your nephew likes swimming.

[Crowydoodle21]

Some psychologists theorise something called the "sleeper effect" which i think could relate to this in that it states that when something is given little attention or is considered to have little credibility people will process it on a "shallow" level immediately but after a so long (often a few days depending on what it is) the person processes it systematically (on a deeper level). What do you think? : )

[lalaururaa]

This is an interesting subject and made me think about something i've given a thought once, although not in such a psychological and smart way. Anyway, how about people having conversations? How do we come up with the subject and how does it "flow" from one subject into the other? I have a little theory about that, which is probably not a very good one, because i don't know much about psychology, although i think it's fascinating how the minds of humans work.

[Crowydoodle21]

Out of curiosity what are your spiritual/religious beliefs Blade376? :D

I personally like to believe everything is a equal and disequal theory but let's not even touch philosophy for now. Ingoing with "reality-wise" thinking i believe in a type of spirit world but i don't like to think people are split into heaven and hell, there's enough seperation in this world as it is, the last thing i want is more.

Everyone have a nice day : )

[scouseriley7]

we are not in control someone or something else is

[jurelletime]

you must just thrive off controversy mm?

ha

my american self is just fasinated by your neat european accent

hahaha

mmreligion jksdlf what an endless subject

[XxXxDIEROMANTICXxXx]

Erm...marry me? Wow. soooo gorgeoussssss.

[blogger88]

Nice to hear about your experiences @ uni.

[logana13]

Sorry for dual comment, but another interesting thing is - if we don't have free wil, should we be punished for doing wrong? I think yes, because having punishment as part of the system means that the experiences ppl have of a world including that will limit the chance that they'll do it, free will or not, but i'd b interested to hear your take.

[logana13]

This is something we've been doing in philosophy too. first and foremost, kudos, that was a brilliant vlog on the topic. Secondly, a thought i always had is that in a way it depends what you se as being 'you' cause if 'you' are only the composite of nature+nurture, then even if it's predetermined, it still kinda is your will if that makes sense.

[motherhoodchronicles]

have you even seen "What the #S*! Do We Know"? It is an amazing documentary/film! Brief synopsis: "This film plunges you into a world where quantum uncertainty is demonstrated - where neurological processes, and perceptual shifts are engaged and lived by its protagonist - where everything is alive, and reality is changed by every thought."

[Sabrnig]

The Secret is a similar movie- I thought it was a little more clear than what the bleep... but the bleep's animated sequences were very funny!

[HappinessAndMorphine]

OMG i love that movie it is amazing. I have watched it like 30 times.

[wizardneedsfoodbadly]

(part2)I believe there is a spirit, we are more than just feelings and thoughts...i think maybe the reason people want to "prove" that there is no such thing as a spirit is because they can't understand it...hmmm

[wizardneedsfoodbadly]

where i live there are black swans..

i think we do have free will...like you said we are still able to make choices...i am one of the people who is saddend by the whole chemical reaction thing...like there HAS to more to life then just energy bumping off each other...i believe that there is more than that.

[Blade376]

is that belief there is more? or just hope?

I mean, a video response I got on live video - was about an experiment that was done...where people where in brainscanners when they were asked to make choices on cards shown to 'em between things. And lets say they were shown 2 colours...(ctnd)

[wizardneedsfoodbadly]

and then goes thro the brain and comes out again as sadness...what i'm saying is i dont think that is all we are...in a way belief and hope are the same thing arent they? faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see

[Blade376]

...when they were asked to make a choice..before the part of the brain that sorts decision making flashed...another part of the brain flashed which went for the colour preference. so our conscious decision was already made by a chemical response..

[wizardneedsfoodbadly]

(prt1)hmm, maybe even tho it is chemical..its our own personal chemical responce..its not someone else telling us we have to pick one thing or the other...so in a way even if it is chemical it is still free will...we are wired and react to different things...for example depression is a chemical imbalance that happens in your brain, caused by outward stresses..

[chefshitpiece]

@wizardneedsfoodbadly Yes we make choices...choices based on our previous experiences which are coded into our brains by a process called NEURO-PLASTICITY! But even those memories are not like a tape recorder, they are filtered through our value system, again...a product of our neural wiring. B4 you ever learn your first lesson, your brain has determined HOW you will encode the memory of the lesson, anbd there4 WHO YOU BECOME~! On the up side...you are a completly unique creation.

[lisaaverill]

ehh.. i think this is the first of your videos that i havent really liked

[Blade376]

hehe too heavy? :P

[lisaaverill]

haha, i guess you could say that..lots of deep things go over my head..that could be why (and probably is!)either way...i still love all your videos minus 1 ;)

[bamaholic]

ooh myles has gone all smart on us! lmao j/k love ya

[BakkyBoy]

Very interesting... You have me thinking. I'm not sure I have a particular view on this just yet, nor that I ever will have solid standing on one side or the other.

[rlepine]

Excellent mental exercise, Miles. Many "religious" people would have objections with your theory.

[Haxzaw]

...We have a BLACK Swan in our backyard !!!!

[jhermbaby]

oh miles, why are you miles and miles away?

[lastcontagiousvictim]

It's stuff like this that makes me want to do psychology next year... One of the most intriguing subjects...

[millionetc]

Erm...So, if it was 'proven' that all human decision was a mechanical set of biochemical algorhythms, couldn't it be said that it was those algorhythms which led to this awareness ?

[millionetc]

Like the uh, Joycean touch there at 1:16.

[will518420]

because even tho our subconscious makes us pick up the glass, we can say ill put it down, so wouldnt that kind of make destiny impossible because at any givin second of any hour of any day we can change our minds about any decision we make (subconsciously or consciously)

[will518420]

continued- because even tho our subconscious makes us pick up the glass, we can say ill put it down, so wouldnt that kind of make destiny impossible because at any givin second of any hour of any day we can change our minds about any decision we make (subconsciously or consciously)

[Blade376]

I said destiny cant be written, but is inevitable..which is sort of stating the obvious.

If we are all bouncing off one anohter, with knock on effects with no free thinking influences, (cause free will doesn't exist), then technically there is a path already being taken...

[will518420]

oic

[will518420]

i understand wut you mean, but lets use the glass of water for example, how would you explain this. ur subconscious tells you to pick up the glass, but then you consciously decide to put it back down, then lets say ur subconscious says to pick it back up then you consciously put it back down. say this repeated several times, wouldnt that mean our consciousness overpowers our subconscious in a way??

[Blade376]

Yeah but I chose not to keep picking up and putting down the glass repeatedly. If my brain had functioned in another way, it would have happened.

I want to remind you all i'm not fully in belief of this theory - im just supporting it to see other views hehe :)

[Meloraa]

=]  -melora

[Ykaedhi]

Life, electricity, gravity... All the same. Laws of the living universe.

Basically everything you are and experience, is given or forced on you, not chosen.

Cola or Pepsi ? The choice has been made for you before you taste it, you are just not aware of the choice yet.

[lozipot86]

and why should we all have this deepset need for reason of existence of there was not one?

[lozipot86]

why should we have a perception of the idea of control or organisation or of a higher being if there wasn't one or weren't such things?

[Blade376]

Like why should we believe we have free will when in fact we don't? It's just a product of the consciousness being unaware of the subconsciousness :)

[CO2umbrella]

Furthermore, isn't every choice predicated upon your lower brain's 'choice' to pump your heart again after each beat? How can you make any other choices if you don't choose to beat your heart? The organism as a whole, regardless of which part is doing it, seems to be making choices. Again, back to the question of whether or not there are every 'true' choices in the world to chosen, i.e. Coke vs. Pepsi isn't free will etc., that's a different discussion.

[CO2umbrella]

If choice is a biochemical process, separate from our psychology and what the persona thinks it wants, the choice is coming from the organism nonetheless. All of this seems like a false distinction, it seems to only redefine self rather than to obviate free will. In my opinion these two things are the same thing, bioself and mindself, they simply manifest themselves in different ways.

[mixedpixel]

most of our decisions are influenced by our feelings and judgements. but this does not take place in our bodies as you stated but in the brain. ok, this is a part of the body, too. as far as i know, it is the amygdala that 'filters' or 'judges' the input - based on feelings.

[JealousGuy]

I love this free will stuff, it's awesome to debate about :D The thing I keep coming back around to is this. Even if our free will were only an illusion, can you imagine what would happen if we ever actually PROVED it? What extent would people go to in doing maniacal things to prove that they did in fact have a choice? If they can prove that free will is an illusion, fine, but it's still going to SEEM like we do. And the way things seem, well sometimes that's all there is. To us, anyway.

[BrittNeeGDxo]

Also, pisces are known to be physics, and more than once, ive had many very ironic odd coinsadences at a time, and 3/5 i can probably guess the "number" youre thinking of. sounds corny, but ive done it alot, lol. Im all for your spiritual side. That my peersonall point of view. =)

[BrittNeeGDxo]

I believe in spirituality, but not in religion, like, i dont believe in the god we all learn about, and all that stuff, but i believe in spirituality, as in astronomy, and its link to the date you were born. also, numerology, and what not, cuz my numerology is spot on to mine, and my horescopes, and stuff about pisces, are the same.

[Ykaedhi]

I'd love to give you video responses but my crappy cam makes loud noises so waiting till i get a new one.

Anyways keep up making people think deep. It's good their shallow asses :)

[Blade376]

hehe cant wait for you to get a "non-crappy cam" hehe

[Drooldog]

very interesting ill think of some views soon

[Drooldog]

ill think on this lol

[Dorris18]

Really interesting video myles. Your a really smart guy, glad i subscribed (: . keep up the good videos.

Ruth

[Blade376]

Thanks alot Ruth - i'm glad you subscribed to :)

[Ykaedhi]

I don't believe in choice. It's all chemichal reactions feeding the brain an illusion of free will.

The universe works automatically.

[Blade376]

interesting...

[lilmspimpz]

If someone were to say that their lives were predetermined to be that way by God or whoever they believe, then how would you explain the poor man who gives up and the poor man that is willing to try and change his life around for the better. Why would the exact concept (Religion, God, Spiritually, Etc.) we were told that would end suffering destine us to live a life of it?

[lilmspimpz]

I agree that our future/destiny isn't written in stone. Throughout life we are given many choices and with each decision we make there is a consequence. So, with that we have a "choice" to take a different route in life. That's free will and everyone takes advantage of that. The person that doesn't use their free will just kind of do nothing and get nothing. Look at the difference between a man who works hard and a man who doesn't do anything. Their lives weren't meant to be that way.

[LaMoosey]

i don't think that free will can be proved or disproved... i think free will is affected by a number of different processes-chemically, socially,etc but ultimately i think we have choices. we have rational thought and we can learn and change. if we don't have some aspect of free will does that mean all things are predetermined, and that choice is just an illusion?

[Blade376]

Well we do have choice in the sense of chosing what not to do..and therefore leading us to take one route...and as i said its all a knock on effect...so if it is an inevitable knock on effect...it means there is a set route..its just we havent come to it yet :)

[iasonis]

***it seems that you cant say "we have choice" and its all a knock on effect in the same breath with out contradition. effects tend to be constants with few exeptions and they are constant because of natural laws (like GRAVITY) that dont change.

[Blade376]

nah because what i mean is "we believe we have choice" when infact its not. what we believe is a conscious choice is actually us just being aware consciously of our minds actions. Its hard to explain hehe

[iasonis]

if the ko effect

your talking about is real the only way i can see it

applying to humans is if we are very unstable conncotions(spelling?)i say this because there are too many variables in human action. case in point,fish gotta swim,birds gotta fly, but whats a human being

GOTTA do before he dies? (eat, drink, and be merry is a cheating answer, just in case your great mind thought like mine for a second

great video!!

[SherlotteR]

My beliefs are, like yours, my own and not typical of any one religion. But mostly I believe in science. Religion to me is to fill in the gaps of what science cannot explain, and as soon as science answers those questions I will stop having 'faith' in that area.

So, I believe that humans do have free will, in the way you explained, sub-consious to conscious level thinking.

On a completely different note, I made my VLOG. Using the same camera as you. Aren't you proud?

[Blade376]

I don't believe in this completely - i think it's just a possibility :) - and yes religion can fill in the gaps - but that doesnt mean its not good hehe.

And awesome bout the vlog -ill have to see.

[bleedingjapanese]

oh man i wish i could hear this. they don't allow me speakers at work. i was just talking about free will the other day. i'll be able to comment on your video later for sure, but for now i want to say that i don't believe in free will at all. i think its a farce. but that has something to do with my belief and issues with God too.

[mixedpixel]

get a headset :o)

[Blade376]

Look foward to hearing ya views on my proposition when u get speakers hehe :)

[sluttyturkey]

Great stuff

[Blade376]

Thanks :)

[lordchawk]

woo first to comment i think

[Blade376]

Hehe - *gives a metaphorical prize*

[scouseriley7]

i disagree i believe in fate, i believe we are meant to do things. like on the show 'Lost' if John Loche had never taken Boone to the crashed plane in the jungle then Boone never would have died and Loche would never have banged and screamed on the hatch and if that hadn't happend then Desmond would have killed himself and the buttons wouldn't be pressed plus Charlie would know be dead. U Get Me?

[bugs2323]

i see where you're going, but i do think it is possible to go against your subconscious impulses which are all about comfort and survival. example, the indian sadhus who subject themselves to all kinds of pain to reach a higher state of consciousnes. they go against their bodies needs.

[Blade376]

Yeah but that's still going through the process of elimination to make that happen. You are given the choice to go against the norm (of experiencing more pain) because you reach a desire for that based on subconscious thoughts..right?

[bugs2323]

ok, yes. i kind of agree but it's interesting that i don't want to agree, to feel that i'm not in control. the idea that i am just an electrochemical machine, well you know where i'm going.

[Blade376]

Yeah I know exactly. N that's what i say - hehe id like to think i am in control...but if u live your life thinking that way - thats all that shud matter :)